Is Chiwetel Ejiofor the Black Panther?
--by Stephen Schleicher
That is a possible fanboys. When pressed about his next project, John Singleton mentioned he’s attatched to direct big screen adaptations of Luke Cage and The Black Panther.
While there are several actors being considered for the part of the African Prince, in an interview with Reelz Channel, Singleton mentioned Chiwetel Ejiofor would be really good in the part.
So who would you rather see; Djimon Hounsou (left) or Chiwetel Ejiofor (right)?
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August 16th, 2007 at 9:13 am
I’m not a Black Panter fanboy but I really can’t imagine finding someone better than Chiwetel Ejiofor. I feel the same way about him for this role as I did when I learned Christian Bale was doing Batman.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I really like Chiwetel Ejiofor as an actor. I could see him as the Panther.
August 16th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I absolutely LOVED Hounsou in Gladiator, and I think he has the look and the gravitas necessary to play the part well. Both are absolutely amazing actors, and I would be pleased to see either of them in the role. Ejiofor is a tribesman, so that would be even cooler.
August 16th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Ejiofor is great, but he has a very “western” look to him. I buy hounsou more as a tribesman. But they are both great. I could see the film working well with either of them.
August 17th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
PLEASE go see Ejiofor’s performance in “Talk To Me”, especially the Pool Hall scene where he describes life as a “black guy in a suit”, always underestimated by corporate America disrecpected “brothers in the ‘hood”. It is a great scene executed by a consumate actor. Ejiofor is perfect for a sterotype-free, Batman Begins type rendition of T’challa. Nor does he look “too western” because not every person of direct African heritage looks like a big bald buck, which is where most of Dijimon Honsou’s appeal lies with fan boys. Africa is a huge place with diverse looking people.
I’m not so sure about John Singleton’s vision, especially with him considering Tyrese Gibson as Luke Cage. That is worse than when LL Cool J was being considered. There are so many trained, physically suited black actors available for various kinds of roles, but Hollywood and fan boys tend to only consider Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson, Morgan Freeman or rappers. Yet when it is time to cast Superman or Batman, the proper care is taken to find a spot-on actor (and in the case of Brandon Routh, a complete unknown was given a shot).