Black Panther Trailer Packs Intense Dose Of Badass Afrofuturism

A new Black Panther trailer is finally here and it may even be more hype-inducing than the first, if Twitter reactions are anything to go by. The incredible trailer is packed full of Afrofuturistic visuals, sweeping vistas, stunning special effects and enough beautiful people to make a model show casting tremble in its Jouer foundation shade range boots.

The trailer is more or less the same trailer shown at Comic-Con International, originally set to Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” but now set to Vince Staples’ “BagBak” with some Gil-Scott Heron in there. Check it out below:

The setting of Wakanda is a fresh one for Marvel movies, which have previously been set either in New York or in space. Wakanda, briefly glimpsed in Captain America: Civil War , is a self-isolated haven of technological advancements and natural wealth. Freshly thrust onto the throne and a newcomer to the Avengers, T’Challa (a fresh and regal Chadwick Boseman) must figure out what kind of king he wants to be.

(Anybody else catch that beautiful twilight shot of T’Challa looking up to the sky like Mufasa’s going to remind him to remember who he is? No?)

The cast is rolling with heavy-hitters, from Lupita Nyong’o as fighter Nakia and Angela Basset as T’Challa’s mother Ramonda to Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown as the mysteriou N’Jobu and Get Out ’s Daniel Kaluuya as T’Challa’s second-in-command W’Kabi. Forest Whitaker as warrior Zuri, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue can also be glimpsed in the trailer. We also see his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) presenting T’Challa with his Black Panther suits in an adorable moment of sibling cuteness:

Michael B. Jordan stuns as Erik Killmonger suiting up in his own violet-infused version of Black Panther’s iconic suit. Looks like T’Challa will go face to face with someone who’s stolen his own powers and twisted them to serve their own malicious purposes. We even see footage that appears to show a group of the Dora Millaje bodyguards serving Killmonger, pointing to a possible and hopefully brief usurpation of the Wakandan throne.

There is precedent for Killinger serving as Black Panther and claiming the throne: a 1998 comic sees Killinger defeating T’Challa one-on-one, only to be poisoned by the source of the Black Panther’s powers, a mystically-charged plant called the Heart-Shaped Herb that grants the user greater stamina and agility along with enhanced senses. The movie may be drawing from this storyline.

Director Ryan Coogler’s vision also sees a slew of high-tech gadgets coming one after the other in glorious hi-def, from the aircraft fellow fighter Okoye (Danai Gurira) flies with her hands to the glowing mini-trackers T’Challa throws to the way the Black Panther suit appears to materialize out of thin air. T’Challa is both king and protector of this glorious nation, righteously defending his rule, his country and his people from both outsiders and itself.

Black Panther hits theatres on Feb. 16. Are you hyped? Feel free to talk about the new trailer in our comments section below.