Black Panther movie update; Black Widow to have own feature movie

BLACK PANTHER (2005) #35[Photo credit: Marvel]

Stan Lee, the creative genius behind Marvel, practically revealed that Black Panther is on its way to the big screen. He spilled the beans on some of the production plans for his superheroes during The "Marvel Presents: The Legendary Stan Lee" panel at the recently concluded Fan Expo Canada– but just enough to pique the already-intense interest of the audience – including the high probability that Black Widow will have her own movie in the future.

He said, as quoted by Comic Book Resource, "We haven't made a Black Widow movie but she's been in some of our movies, and she will be featured more prominently as we move forward. And the chances are she will have her own movie because eventually all the superheroes are going to have their own movies."

The 91-year old legend added, "They are already working on Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and the Black Panther and there are others I am not allowed to talk about."

While the character of Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff is now (almost) synonymous to actress Scarlett Johansson, there has yet to be someone to play Black Panther/ T'Challa on a live action movie. The loudest buzz is that Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up, 42) is being tapped for the role.

When asked about the rumor of him playing the character, the 31-year old actor told the hosts of the morning show The Breakfast Club, "Ahhh, I don't know anything about that... Until the contract is signed, I don't know."

In the comics, T'Challa is a descendant of Bashenga, the first king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda and the first Black Panther. His nation is the only place where Vibranium can be found – the ore from which Captain America's shield if made of.

In an interview for BlackTree TV last year, Kevin Feige, Marvel Studio's president of production, said, "In terms of Black Panther, it's absolutely in development. And when you have something as rich as Wakanda and [Black Panther's] backstory – and clearly Vibranium's been introduced in the universe already – I don't know when it will be exactly but certainly we have plans to bring him to life someday."

Kevin Feige on Loki and The Black Panther movies | Thor The Dark World[Video: BlackTree TV]