Following Success of “Black Panther,” Industry Greenlights More Movies About Panthers
by Veronica Marks
HOLLYWOOD, CA – After Black Panther made $520 million in its first weekend, the film industry took note and started pre-production on dozens of films about panthers.
“For a very long time, Hollywood has believed that movies about panthers couldn’t perform well at the box office,” said Universal Pictures executive Timothy Anderson. “But this film has just blown those expectations out of the water.”
Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman, follows a panther who returns home to ascend to the throne. The film is directed by Ryan Coogler, who also directed Fruitvale Station, a movie about a station.
“What else about Black Panther could be the reason that it shattered dozens of box office records?” said George Ford, a Warner Bros. executive. “It’s revolutionary, really. Clearly the world wants to see more movies about panthers.”
The film also stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, and Forest Whitaker. While none of them play panthers, their characters are not as important as the main character, who is a panther.
Not all high-ranking members of the industry have been so welcoming of change. “Isn’t one movie about panthers enough?” asked Miramax executive Vincent Hollis. “You know, we can’t just make movies because they have panthers in them.”
However, many in Hollywood have seen the error of their ways. “We’ve been blind,” admitted Paramount executive Derrick Brown. “We’ve been making films about one type of person for too long. Specifically, the human type of person. We get the message audiences have been sending, loud and clear: the world’s been starved for panthers,” said Brown.
While the details of the new panther films have not yet been determined, insiders confirmed that panther horror films, panther buddy cop movies, and even panther-based romantic comedies are in the works. Experts like Reservoir Dogs director Quentin Tarantino, Pink Panther writer Shawn Levy, and Duck Soup star Groucho Marx’s hologram have already been attached to the projects.
This resounding support comes soon after the monumental success of Lady Bird, which proved that the industry needs more stories led by birds.
