Chadwick Boseman Didn't Have to Audition to Play the Black Panther

Chadwick Boseman opens up about being a part of 'Black Panther' in new interview.

Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Bosemanattend the San Diego Comic Con International 2016
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Image via Getty/Alberto E. Rodriguez

Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Bosemanattend the San Diego Comic Con International 2016

With less than two weeks to go before Marvel releases the long-awaited, already critically-acclaimed Black Panther in theaters, the real deal promo run for the Ryan Coogler-directed film is hitting. This morning, Variety dropped its cover story on Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman, which traced how they both settled into their roles behind this production, and we actually get one intriguing piece of insight regarding how perfect this role ended up being for Chadwick Boseman.

While jokes about Boseman playing the likes of esteemed African American men like Jackie Robinson and James Brown always fly on our timelines, it was those specific moves that Marvel appreciated in Boseman. Marvel Studios president (and svengali) Kevin Feige told Variety that when Chadwick Boseman's name came up in discussion, they immediately settled on him. “I think it was 24 hours between saying his name in a creative story meeting and talking to his agent and getting on the phone with him,” he told the publication. Even crazier? While everyone from Chris Pratt to Robert Downey, Jr. had to audition for their now-iconic roles, Boseman got his offer while speaking to Marvel reps via speakerphone during a promo trip for Get on Up in Zurich.

On a completely different tangent, Variety also asked Boseman about prospects for a sequel for Black Panther. He didn't go on record about what the future would hold for Black Panther on the solo tip, saying, "I’m enjoying this moment. If we start talking about sequels — if we do four of them, two of them, three of them — I just want them all to be special like this one." It is an interesting thing to bring up; as of right now, Ryan Coogler's hasn't really done any sequels (it was announced back in December that he wouldn't be directing the Creed sequel, after writing and directing the first). Should we be prepping for a Coogler-less Black Panther sequel?

The interview covers a number of aspects, from why films need to reflect on today's diverse society to the "suffocating" time Boseman had rocking the Black Panther costume at first to Ryan Coogler's first time meeting Oprah. Check out the full piece over on Variety.

Ryan Coogler/Chadwick Boseman Variety cover

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