Granderson: We need a ‘Black Panther’ sequel now more than ever
In July, Black Panther’s star-studded cast attended the premiere of the film, which went on to gross $164.3 million on an estimated $275 million budget (in the United States). While there was a tremendous amount of praise for Black Panther and Kevin Feige’s vision for the film, not all were pleased with the results.
Many fans were unhappy with how the film was marketed and handled during the first week of release, with many believing they would not see the sequel for at least 6 months. In a recent interview, Marvel executives addressed these comments:
“I am still really confident in Black Panther, but there is no question it was a very challenging and time-consuming process to bring the movie to theatres. There is no doubt this was the right timing in terms of marketing and the timing of the film for the second act. We feel like we worked really hard to get to a place for this to be the best experience.”
“With both films (Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther) we’ve learned how to take the feedback that we have gotten from fans, from people who have been at the movies and been able to see the films, and not just from a marketing perspective but from an intellectual perspective as well, and find ways to do things that will make both films better and that have the benefit of getting everyone involved.”
On the marketing front, the release of Black Panther has been hailed as a success (with critics like Empire Magazine and Empire calling the film the best film of the year), while the disappointing first week of release has been called “a major mistake to some”. On Twitter, one user wrote, “Now, Black Panther is #1. But you never see a damn sequel.”
On a recent podcast, Black Panther screenwriter Joe Robert Cole addressed the response to the film’s first week:
“Well, I feel like a lot of it came from, if you�
