The casts that Marvel Studios have been assembling for their films have just grown increasingly more star-studded as time has gone on, and their reputation has garnered more and more good will. Just this year alone, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok, the studio will be introducing talented, world-renowned dramatic actors like Kurt Russell, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Keaton, Bokeem Woodbine, and more into a live-action superhero universe, the likes of which cinema has never seen before.

However - despite the fact that the studio is still a little over a year from releasing it - already it looks like they’ve not only assembled the most ethnically diverse cast in superhero movie history, but also one of the most stacked ever with Black Panther. The standalone film was already boasting quite an incredible lineup of actors for itself too, before it just got even better and added This is Us actor Sterling K. Brown to the mix, much to the delight of fans and critics everywhere.

While recently speaking with The Undefeated, Brown talked about how excited he is to be apart of the project, and specifically, how confident he is in the talents and knowledge of all of those involved, from star Chadwick Boseman, director Ryan Coogler, and producer Nate Moore:

Now, there’s not much new that Brown was able to divulge about his mysterious character in the film, that we didn’t already know at least, only teasing that he’s “somebody from T’Challa’s past.” That much was already known about his character, who’s named N’Jobu, and it doesn’t reveal much about the story either, since it was already confirmed and assumed that the standalone film would, in some form or another, be diving into both T’Challa’s own personal past, and the history of the Wakandan nation.

“I just worked with Chad on a film called Marshall, about Thurgood Marshall. He’s such a talented human being and a deep soul. He’s the perfect personality to fully inhabit T’Challa. So, to rejoin him, and to work with Academy Award winners … to be with Michael B. Jordan after the incredible work he’s done in Creed. Danai Gurira … Forest Whitaker — like, it’s embarrassing. I’m good at what I do — I don’t try to do any sort of false modesty — but, ‘Wow! I get to be with all of you people!?!’ I think Ryan Coogler is one of the great storytellers that we have working today. The meeting I had with Nate Moore before I even got to chance to audition for Panther, and to see the level of knowledge, and just passion that he has for the whole universe, and for this project in particular … it’s in such good hands. I worked with Joe Robert Cole — he was one of our writers on The People vs. O.J. who co-writes with Ryan Coogler [on Panther]. Like, everyone is so good at what they do.

I was having this conversation with Nate and he’s saying that Ryan was asking him, ‘So how many white people are going to be in this thing?’ And Nate was like, ‘Well, it’s going to take place in Wakanda, so probably it will be majority African.’ He’s like, ‘Can we do that? Can we do that?” And he’s like, ‘Well, that’s the world, and that’s what we’re gonna do.’”

Brown isn’t wrong about praising the talent of the film’s cast and crew either, with writer and director Ryan Coogler following up his success on the critically-acclaimed Creed with the Marvel film, and a stacked cast that includes Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett and more. For many who have been following Brown’s work on television over the years, he’s just yet another exciting addition to that already talented cast, especially as he continues to receive critical acclaim for his work on last year’s People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and NBC’s smash hit original series, This is Us.

So after years and years of fans calling for more diverse representation in superhero films, it looks like Black Panther will be the movie that they’ve been waiting for - and it’s coming with some very, very exciting names attached to it just for good measure.

Source: The Undefeated

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release Date: 2017-05-05 Black Panther Release Date: 2018-02-16 Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26