The teaser trailer for “Black Panther” didn’t give too much in the way of plot details, but it was full of tidbits. Here’s what we gleaned at the first look at Marvel’s upcoming superhero movie.
After popping up in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Andy Serkis’ villainous character Ulysses Klaue is back. He opens the trailer with a monologue about the true nature of Wakanda. It’s the fabled city of El Dorado, and the country’s third-world appearance to the rest of the planet is just a front to hide its true nature.
Also returning to Marvel Cinematic Universe is Everett Ross, played by Martin Freeman. Ross had a role in “Captain America: Civil War.” He’s a the CIA director who worked to get the Avengers to sign onto the Sokovia Accords to limit their actions. At the end of that movie, he took custody of the villain Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) after the Black Panther stopped him from killing himself.
Turns out, Wakanda is a pretty cool-looking place.
Wakanda is also pretty technologically advanced, despite what the world thinks of it. For one thing, it’s the only place on Earth where Vibranium is found — the indestructible stuff that Captain America’s shield is made of, and gives Black Panther’s suit its bulletproof properties.
Next up — these obvious bad guys, wandering the jungle. We haven’t got any context for them yet. But Black Panther is about to mess them up.
A closer look at the bad guys, likely henchmen, who are about to get walloped by Black Panther.
Guess who.
Next we realize that Black Panther, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), is working with Ross, watching him interrogate Klaue from behind one-way glass. Right there beside him is ally Okoye (Danai Gurira). And the two share a look when Klaue says he knows the pair are watching.
Turns out, Wakanda is a super advanced and awesome sci-fi place.
We only get a few flashes of things and people in Wakanda, but one of them is Zuri (Forest Whitaker). In the Black Panther comics, Zuri is a warrior ally of T’Challa’s.
We’re not getting much information as far as plot in the teaser trailer, but this is the first time we see Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger. Right after this, he and some armed dudes blow up the wall to the interrogation room — apparently to break out Klaue.
Without a lot of context, we get a look at Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. She’s another villain, likely allied with Killmonger.
And this looks to be Okoye beating up some bad dudes in the same casino setting where Nakia showed up. Expect this to be a big attack set piece.
After that fight, we see T’Challa walking shirtless toward some a group, perhaps of Wakandan soldiers. Given his pose, he could be trying to convince his people of the threat posed by Killmonger and Klaue.
This shot suggests Klaue sneak-attacking some poor folks in the middle of some kind of crime. This might be the scene in which he’s captured before the interrogation, or it could suggest that once Killmonger breaks him out, he’s another active force that Black Panther has to fight.
Part of T’Challa’s job as king of Wakanda is to represent the nation to the world, as seen here at the United Nations
At least at some point, it looks like Killmonger is captured. Here we see the maskless villain and Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, who serves as T’Challa’s second-in-command in Wakanda in the comics.
In the next few shots, it looks like T’Challa might be meeting up with various tribe elders in Wakanda — including Isaach De Bankolé, seen here and listed on iMDB as “River Tribe Elder.”
With more shots of places like throne rooms, along with that earlier tribe of T’Challa approaching a group of armed people, we might be seeing a moment in which Black Panther has to try to unite various people in Wakanda to deal with the threat posed by Killmonger and his allies.
Another procession approaching guards in this shot — and could that furry outfit toward the back be worn by Winston Duke as M’Baku, better known as the powerful villain Man-Ape?
And that’s Ramonda (Angela Bassett), queen of Wakanda and T’Challa’s step-mother. Given the fast camera movement of this shot, she looks to be under threat.
Killmonger readies to take on a mess of warriors in this battle, and it looks like he’s backed up by the blue-uniformed warriors in the background.
We’re not sure what exactly is going on in this battle, but we do know that’s Ayo (Florence Kasumba) on the left. From the previous shot, it seems she’s up against Killmonger and the warriors supporting him.
The battle takes a turn when Nakita shows up with Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s half-sister. Looks like those snake hand things are going to mess some people up.
And this looks to be Man-Ape in his full super-strong glory, looking generally menacing. Our best guess? Killmonger and Man-Ape team to bring war to Wakanda, forcing T’Challa to work to unite the rest of the Wakandans to oppose them.
The trailer ends with a sick jump as Black Panther destroys a car and launches into the air as a wave of purple energy dissipates below him. No idea what that’s all about, but it looks awesome.
