black panther

While most of the Marvel buzz for this year centers on the ensemble flick ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, that film will follow the also highly anticipated ‘Black Panther’.  Just how excited are fans to see Chadwick Boseman‘s first solo outing as the super powered king of Wakanda?  Fandango has revealed that ‘Black Panther’ has set a new record for Marvel Studios, racking up the most ticket presales in its first 24 hours of any of the studio’s previous offerings, even the all-star ‘Captain America: Civil War’, the previous holder of this distinction.

According to Fandango Editor Erik Davis:

“Black Panther is riding an incredible wave of momentum right now.  It’s one of the biggest and most anticipated movies to ever open in the month of February, and its trailers have electrified the Internet. Tickets have been going fast ever since presales started on Fandango late Monday.”

It probably helps that trailers for ‘Infinity War’ have heavily featured Boseman’s T’Challa as well as other members of his cast including Danai Gurira (as Okoye) and Letitia Wright (as Shuri).  Angela Bassett and Winston Duke are also reported to appear in ‘Infinity War’ and Black Panther is said to play a major role in *ahem* arming the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

In addition to further embellishing Boseman’s character and his extensive supporting cast that also features Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker and Daniel Kaluuya, ‘Black Panther’ introduces the mysterious African nation of Wakanda, the only source on Earth for the indestructible metal Vibranium, which is reportedly connected to the Soul Infinity Stone.

In the film, T’Challa must battle Michael B. Jordan as Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue/Klaw and possibly Duke’s M’Baku, who in the comics is the villain Man-Ape.

Well, we only have a few more weeks until ‘Black Panther’ but if pre-sales are any indication, this movie is looking to open huge!

‘Black Panther’ directed by Ryan Coogler strikes theaters on February 16, 2018.