Marvel Begins 50 Day Countdown to Black Panther

Marvel's Black Panther is just around the corner and the hype is starting to get very real. Marvel Studios has just started the official 50 day countdown for their latest movie, which arrives in theaters on February 16. To honor the occasion, the studio has released a very brief new teaser, featuring the titular hero in action. While there's not much footage here, it serves as a nice reminder that one of the most exciting MCU movies to come around in a while is going to be here before we know it.

"50 days #BlackPanther"
Even though many casual movie fans weren't even vaguely familiar with Black Panther prior to Captain America: Civil War, his MCU introduction was more than enough to get people excited for the upcoming solo movie. Not only that, but every trailer and every piece of new footage, or really any bit of marketing material for the movie (for the most part) has only further made it look like this is going to be a truly unique and awesome movie within the framework of the MCU.

Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W'kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M'baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, and Forest Whitaker as Zuri. In addition, Andy Serkis returns as Ulysses Klaue, after first playing the role briefly in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It will be nice to see Serkis get to do some acting outside of a motion capture suit for a change.

In addition to the killer cast that Marvel has assembled for this one, they also have Creed and Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler at the helm. To say the very least, there's a whole lot to look forward to when it comes to Black Panther. Not only that, but we're going to get even more of Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, and all of Wakanda for that matter, just a few months later in Avengers: Infinity War. That much was made very clear by the movie's first teaser trailer. Black Panther is poised to be a major factor in the MCU moving forward.

Despite the fact that general audiences aren't as familiar with the character, it looks like Black Panther could be the first major blockbuster of 2018. Though it's very early, estimates have the movie pulling in $90 million on its opening weekend. That would be another huge win for the MCU and would put it in the same ballpark as Doctor Strange, which made $85 million on its opening weekend. We'll likely have a much better idea of what to expect once the first critical reactions to the movie online. Be sure to check out the Black Panther 50 day countdown teaser, courtesy of Marvel Studios, for yourself below.