Anson Mount To Play Black Bolt In ‘Marvel’s Inhumans’
The road to seeing the Inhuman royal family on screen has been a somewhat rocky one, with the Inhumans originally slated for a feature movie release and then becoming a miniseries instead. However, today marked an important announcement: the casting of Anson Mount to play Blackagar Boltagon, King of the Inhumans.
The character of Black Bolt has a long and storied comics history, and Inhumans fans will likely be excited to see him finally onscreen in live action. Previously, Black Bolt has appeared in the Fantastic Four, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.SH., Ultimate Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon, and Avengers: Ultron Revolution on the animated small screen, as well as the direct-to-video animated feature Planet Hulk and a selection of Marvel video games.
Slated to play the role, as mentioned before, is actor Anson Mount, known for his role as the lead in the AMC historical drama Hell On Wheels. Mr. Mount is presently on a social media hiatus and has not commented on the casting.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, y'all. Taking a social media hiatus. I'll be back, but need to focus for a while. Xoxoxox
— Anson Mount (@ansonmount) February 25, 2017
That said, Jeph Loeb and Scott Buck, respectively the head of Marvel Television and Marvel’s Inhumans showrunner, did comment on the casting to Deadline. Mr. Loeb stated that Mr. Mount is excited about the role and that his “almost regal persona” made him ideal for the part. Mr. Buck talked about the complexities of Black Bolt as a character, pointing out, as did Mr. Loeb, that Black Bolt does not speak, and an actor, in this case Mr. Mount, would have to be excellent at visually conveying the character’s inner life.
For those not in the know, Black Bolt doesn’t speak because his voice can destroy entire city blocks and then some. The Inhumans as a people all have superpowers, granted to them by the Terrigen Mists, and, in the comics, a history of eugenics and slavery. Black Bolt’s wife, Medusalith or Medusa, has immense amounts of prehensile hair, for example, and his brother, Maximus, has a superhuman intellect.
Maximus will be played by Game of Thrones alum Iwan Rheon, and may serve, as he sometimes does in the comics, as the villain of the series, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story on February 21, 2017. As of right now, no other character castings have been announced.
As for what else we know about the upcoming series, ComicBook reported that Roel Reine, director for the first two episodes, was testing IMAX cameras in January. They cited a tweet that has since been deleted from the director’s account.
This is in line with a report from a Hawaiian business journal called Pacific Business News. Journalist Duane Shimogawa reports that Marvel’s Inhumans will be shot in an old Navy base in Kalaeloa. He quotes the Hawaiian film commission for confirmation, and adds that the series will bring hundreds of film jobs to the neighborhood, as well as its $80-$100 million budget when it begins to shoot in March. AV Club then adds that the series will shoot under the name Project Next, though there is no clear further source on this.
What we don’t know about the upcoming series is perhaps more interesting than what we do know. So far, we haven’t received any kind of plot synopsis or any other information about what the show will cover, aside from the fact that it will center on the Inhuman royal family.
Marvel’s Inhumans will premiere in IMAX theaters on Labor Day weekend, and will premiere on ABC on September 26, 2017.
[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]
