Actor Winston Duke has landed the role of M’Baku, aka Man-Ape, reports Variety. In the comic books, M’Baku is a Wakandan warrior, second only to the Black Panther. He is not happy with his position, though, and he ends up going rogue. With the help of the outlawed White Gorilla Cult, he manages to gain powers that he goes on to use against the Black Panther and the Avengers.
The upcoming film, which stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, aka the Black Panther, already seems to have multiple villains, so the hero should have his hands full. He is expected to battle Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis), and now, possibly Man-Ape. Of course, Marvel and Disney — not to mention fans — love sequels, spinoffs, and crossovers, so it’s entirely possible that M’Baku won’t show his true, villainous colors until a later film.
Duke seems well-equipped to be the bad guy, whenever that day may come. On Person of Interest, he played Dominic, the leader of the dangerous Brotherhood gang. He has also recently appeared on TNT’s Major Crimes and The CW’s The Messengers.
Black Panther will be the first stand-alone film for the eponymous hero, but he has already made his MCU debut. Boseman portrayed the character in Captain America: Civil War, which opened in May. Meanwhile, Serkis’ character, Klaw, has also previously popped up, namely, in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. In contrast, Duke and fellow castmates Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira are new to the Marvel films.
Ryan Coogler (Creed) is directing Black Panther, as well as writing the script with Joe Robert Cole. Kevin Feige is producing. Black Panther is slated to open on February 16, 2018.
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