It's indisputable that Black Panther's success is making waves across the Marvel Universe and our own (perhaps they come from King T’Challa’s vibranium suit).
Fellow MCU actors and producers are praising the Ryan Coogler-directed film, and now DC's Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is joining in that chorus. “Huge congrats #BlackPanther on the staggering weekend,” Jenkins tweeted. “So happy for your incredibly meaningful success.”
Jenkins knows a thing or two about the importance of representation when it comes to creating a superhero movie. With her 2017 masterpiece starring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jenkins became the first woman to direct a superhero film. Both Wonder Woman and Black Panther pushed huge crowds to the theaters full of hungry fans looking to see women and people of color portrayed as superheroes on the big screen. Black Panther made a staggering $242 million in its four-day weekend debut, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Both films were also not without their detractors. Sensitive man babies cried about women-only screenings of Wonder Woman when the film first came out. Meanwhile, some race-baiting trolls tried to lie about being assaulted at Black Panther screenings.
Despite the hate, both films continue to be significant landmarks that help make space for future non-white, non-male superheros to have their stories told. If only King T'Challa and Wonder Woman could work side-by-side on the big screen.
