Disney Facts! Volume 2

Facts 691-720: Black Panther Themed Page

The Black Panther lives! WAKANDA FOREVER!!! 

Let's learn some facts about the smash hit, Black Panther! 

Just a heads up, this update may contain spoilers for those who have yet to see the film, so please read at your own risk and not spoil the film in the comment section, thank you! 

Fact #691
Three out of every five people in Wakanda go barefoot, a deliberate decision by the costuming department.  

Fact #692
The fighting in this film is based on African martial arts. The filmmakers also cited the action scenes in Creed and the "Kingsman" films as an influence on the style.

Fact #693
Wakanda was mentioned as a location on a S.H.I.E.L.D. monitor in Iron Man 2. The location pinpoints the country as being situated at Lake Turkana, on the borders of Kenya and Ethopia. The region in real life is special for holding great mineral deposits. 

Fact #694
The Black Panther was created in July 1966, two months before the founding of the Black Panther Party. Many people mistakenly assumed the name referenced the Party, and so the the character was renamed the Black Leopard. However, neither the readers nor the creators cared for that title and it did not last for long. 

Fact #695
Gorilla City, home to Man-Ape's Jabari Tribe, was originally set in a rain forest, but Ryan Coogler felt it was too obvious and suggested that it be found up a snow-covered mountain.

Fact #696
Killmonger's bumpy, ritualistic tribal markings on his chest and torso are based on the scar tattoos of the Mursi and Surma tribes.

Fact #697
Co-stars Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke, who play adversaries Nakia and M'Baku, were classmates at Yale together. They saw The Avengers together when it released, and were so awestruck by it they said hoped to get a chance to star in a similar film one day.

Fact #698
Wesley Snipes had wanted to play the Black Panther in the 90s, and had gone to Columbia Pictures with a script. He later went on to play the vampire hunter Blade; he was still interested in playing the Black Panther, but Marvel decided to go a different direction while Snipes was busy creating his own superhero roles and writing superhero books and screenplays.

Fact #699
The name "Wakanda" comes from the Wakamba tribe of Kenya, also known as the Kamba.

Fact #700
Black Panther was the first of the Marvel characters whose movie rights reverted back to Marvel, having been previously owned by Artisan Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. Marvel got the rights back in 2005.

Fact #701
For her role as Queen Ramonda, Angela Bassett underwent training with Corey Calliet on a special regime. Calliet created high-intensity interval training circuits for Bassett focused on her lower body, as "the fastest and the most effective way to burn fat": mountain climbers, jump squats, lunges, push-ups and high knees, in intervals of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, up to an hour at a time.

Fact #702
John Boyega was considered for the role of T'Challa.

Fact #703

Costume designer Ruth E. Carter cites the clothes of the African tribes the Maasai, the Himba, the Dogon, the Basotho, the Tuareg, the Turkana, the Xhosa, the Zulu, the Suma and the Dinka as an influence on Wakanda clothing. Carter also studied the works of contemporary fashion designers Issey Miyake, Yves Saint-Laurent and Donna Karan.

Fact #704
Although it might seem unbelievable/dubious that there would be snow in Africa, it is actually known to happen in a few places, including East Africa where (the fictional country of) Wakanda is said to be.

Fact #705
Stan Lee: comic-book writer who co-created the Black Panther, appears as a casino guest.

Fact #706
In the comics, Nakia went rogue and became the supervillain Malice. Lupita Nyong'o has said that Nakia will stay a member of the Wakandan guard.

Fact #707
None of the Avengers appear in Black Panther. 

Fact #708
When Shuri gives T'challa the new shoes (called sneakers), she mentions that they absorb sound & allow silent footsteps, which T'challa demonstrates. Later in the film, T'challa runs up a ramp wearing the sneakers... accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

Fact #709
It was decided early on that isiXhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa, would be the language of Wakanda. A precedent had been set in "Captain America: Civil War", when celebrated South African actor John Kani, who portrayed King T'Chaka, used his native tobgue. Chadwick Boseman, who plays T'Challa/Black Panther, picked it up from him as well. 

Fact #710
Actor Daniel Kaluuya learned how to ride a horse as practice to simulate riding W'Kabi's armoured rhino in the film.

Fact #711
The majority of the Wakanda sets were constructed on soundstages at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, including the tribal council, the Wakandan design group, Shuri's hive of research and development for the vibranium rich country, the ancient subterranean Hall of Kings; and most notably Warrior Falls, the ceremonial heart of Wakanda's revered traditions.

Fact #712
More than 700 cubic metres of foam went into the Warrior Falls set, which was sculpted to match the rocks in Oribi Gorge in South Africa.

Fact #713
Director Ryan Coogler wanted the South Korea action sequence to be seamless, so he had an editor on set cutting footage in real time. This is not often done during production, but Coogler felt it was the best way to capture all the action, stunts and special effects in one frame on time.

Fact #714
South African actor Atandwa Kani plays the character of Young T'Chaka, to his father and celebrated South African actor John Kani's King T'Chaka. 

Fact #715
Black Panther may have recently made his feature film debut, but he's no stranger to the small screen, having appeared in both the Fantastic Four and X-Men animated series in the 1990s as well as Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He even had his own animated show on BET for a short time.

Fact #716
In the Marvel comics, Black Panther became one half of a true power couple when he married X-Men member Storm in his homeland of Wakanda. Unfortunately, after Wakanda was attacked, T'Challa realized he needed to focus more on being a king than a husband, and the marriage was annulled. 

Fact #717
In the Marvel comics, following in the footsteps of Captain America, who punched Adolf Hitler, Black Panther traveled to the American South–Georgia, to be exact–and took on the KKK. 

Fact #718
Boseman decided that an African accent was not only appropriate, but also necessary for T'Challa. He believes that because Wakanda is a technologically advanced nation that was never affected by colonialism, Black Panther would keep his native tongue and not have a European accent.

Fact #719
Marvel decided it was best to change the name of a key character from the Black Panther comic who is featured in the film. The character of M'Baku is actually named Man-Ape in the comic, and is often covered in fur and wears an ape mask. 

Fact #720
The Dora Milaje, also known as the Adored Ones, are an all-female group of Warriors that help protect Wakanda and look after the King. They were a late addition to the Black Panther comics, appearing in 1998, and will be featured in the film as well.

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I hope you all enjoyed these facts as much as I did! LONG LIVE THE KING!