Cinematical

There has already been plenty of talk surrounding the casting of John Singleton's big- screen version of Luke Cage. But so far, there hasn't been much attention paid to Singleton's other superhero project, The Black Panther. But now, ReelzChannel has interviewed Singleton and the topic of Panther came up. In talking about actors who could tackle the role, Singelton told ReelzChannel "Chiwetel Ejiofor could do it". Eljiofor is a British actor of Nigerian descent, who has been landing some relatively high-profile roles recently. With American Gangster and David Mamet's Redbelt on the way, Ejiofor has already signed to star in the historical epic based on the life of Toussaint Louverture.

Panther was published by Marvel comics and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The hero first appeared in an issue of Fantastic Four back in 1966. The story centered on T'Challa, a superhero with a birthright to guard his homeland. As well as being a member of the super group The Avengers, he is the leader of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Battling your usual assortment of comic book villains, the story also slipped in some occasional political commentary -- even pitting the Panther against the Klu Klux Klan. The social undertones of the comic seem like a perfect fit for the politically outspoken director.

But, Panther could still be a long way off. Christopher had already given us the news that Singleton was going to direct the Halle Berry drama Tulia first, and then he is on to his other comic book adaptation Luke Cage. But Singleton has not entirely forgotten about Panther, since he at least seems to be thinking about casting. According to Reelz, gossips had already put forward Djimon Hounso as the lead contender for the role, and long before Wesley Snipes became Blade, he had also been interested in playing the hero. But since Singleton doesn't appear to have made up his mind yet, fans should probably speak up now -- don't you think?