Black Panther 2: When Marvel Respects the Competition

While Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently in theaters, the release of Marvel’s previous DVD/Blu-ray film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is just around the corner. For the occasion, its director Ryan Coogler addressed the comparisons that are sometimes made between his feature film and the undersea movie: Aquaman.

If there’s a comparison, it’s that Black Panther 2, like Aquaman, presents a superhero movie in which most or most of the action takes place underwater. We were then before the release of Avatar 2, and only two films were entered into this “competition”. Coogler wasn’t viewed as an adversary by the DC film, quite the opposite. James Wan’s film paved the way for him:

I’m sure, cinematically, the fact that Aquaman came out and was successful was an indirect help for us to focus on what made Namor different from Aquaman. Also because of the respect of the public, who went to see it en masse and loved it.

“Obviously, it was our job to set the blinds and make our film, but also to understand what the market might want at this point (…)”He trusted Uproxx. “I think it’s always better to give the audience something different and good and unique. We looked at what made these characters different, who are still pretty close in their editions.”

But then, how do we tell them apart specifically? Ryan Coogler chose to bet on two aspects of Namor. First his face with his recognizable green boxer shorts and ankle fins, but also his character and his story: the arrogance, the fact that he is “Child of Two Worlds” Without knowing where he really is, but also very confident and very dangerous.

All this so that the resemblance to the King of Atlantis from DC Comics is as inconspicuous as possible.

See you in theaters on December 20th to find out if Aquaman and the Lost Realm can top Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of the Water.