You Might Want to Sit Down for This: It’s the First ‘Black Panther’ Poster!

Hail to the king.

The first Marvel Studios film to star a black superhero is making its big debut online today, starting with the first teaser poster for Black PantherThe film stars Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa, the ruler of the African nation of Wakanda. Directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed), Black Panther also stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, with Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.

Marvel Studios

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Frankly, the poster is… a little underwhelming. The vast, shining emptiness of T’Challa’s throne room dwarfs the character himself, making him feel look more diminished than we would expect from the hero we met in last year’s Captain America: Civil War.

Moreover, the poster also looks quite Photoshopped, to the extent that we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the image was originally of Black Panther in his cowl, and that Chadwick Boseman’s face was pasted on after the fact. Look at the light on the right side of T’Challa’s face, then take note that there’s only one major light source in the room… and it’s on his left.

That’s not an organic image. It doesn’t help that although the words on Black Panther’s throne are reflected in the floor in front of him… Black Panther himself is not. Hmmm…

Everyone likes a great poster, but we’re willing to overlook a generic one if we’re excited about the movie. And Black Panther seems as though it should be worth getting excited about. The director is great, the cast is great. Hopefully the first teaser trailer, arriving later today, gives us more of a thrill.

Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2016.

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Top Photo: Marvel Studios

William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.

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