‘Captain America: Civil War’ Cast On Magazine Cover Means Black Panther Is A Pivotal Character?

The Captain America: Civil War cast has mostly been announced, and three of them have appeared on the cover of a recent magazine. Fans already know that with its inspiration being the Marvel “Civil War” story arc, Cap and Iron Man are the most important characters.

However, the third character on the cover of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly is Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). His solo film doesn’t even have a director yet, and he was placed between the main characters from the film. Other characters have appeared on box art without ever having their own solo film, but there is none planned for them.

Some might speculate that this means Chadwick Boseman’s character was featured for the sake of equality. If that was the reason, then why didn’t Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), or Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – all of which have been in at least three films by now – see themselves on the cover, as well? Also, anyone could actually be in that suit.

So far, the only connection having been made with Black Panther in the MCU is the use of Vibranium in Cap’s shield, a metal mined specifically in Wakanda, Black Panther’s home. Also, his arch enemy even became an unwitting victim of Ultron in the last Avengers film, but we haven’t seen him in action yet, aside from one trailer.

It seems T’Challa’s role in the Captain America: Civil War cast might be larger than we had thought, if he’s sharing the cover with Cap (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.). He had already been featured in the initial on-set images alongside Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), and a few spots in the first Captain America: Civil War trailer. One possibility is that the government mandate spreads worldwide, and the King of Wakanda is showing up to fight for his nation’s rights. This would place him in the same political crosshairs as Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, and possibly make him the one trying to get the two sides to work together. This would give him the same technical reason as Black Widow, according to the trailer.

Previously released concept art has shown the Captain America: Civil War cast taking sides, and Black Panther was seen on Cap’s team.

Unfortunately, Captain America could end up being killed or replaced, with Chris Evans having no films past Civil War and Gifted on his to-do list. Previous reports that he may be retiring from acting appear to be true, though the Inquisitr has reported otherwise. Another previous report has pointed to the possibility that Frank Grillo‘s character, Brock Rumlow (Crossbones), may be the one to deliver the fatal shot. At the time, the actor had denied this, later saying he knew nothing about the upcoming film.

We have your exclusive first look at @CaptainAmerica: #CivilWar—@Marvel‘s biggest movie yet! https://t.co/tAPRY4CjHk pic.twitter.com/9Gy2ZW2r5L

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 2, 2015

It appears there is a lot of secrecy involved among the Captain America: Civil War cast. The inclusion of Black Panther over the rest of the supporting cast of the film on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Coming Soon, could indicate that T’Challa will have a major role before he even gets his own film.

Other indications have pointed to Spider-Man being in the Captain America: Civil War cast, but there has been no revelation of what his role will be. According to the comics, he had originally sided with Tony Stark and been given a special suit, and later defected to Captain America.

A lot of rumors and speculation have surrounded the upcoming Marvel ensemble film. As a supposedly minor character among the Captain America: Civil War cast, Black Panther’s inclusion alongside Cap and Iron Man on the cover of Entertainment Weekly has raised a lot of questions about his level of involvement.

[Image via Marvel Studios]