Black Panther and his supporting cast were created during a very different period, so you can see why an African character called "Man-Ape" could be problematic for Marvel Studios. However, rather than abandoning the villain, he will indeed be part of the upcoming 2018 release, albeit with some pretty significant changes. For starters, he won't be referred to as Man-Ape or dressed up as one of them!
"We don’t call him Man-Ape," producer Nate Moore confirms in an interview. with EW. "We do call him M’Baku. Having a black character dress up as an ape, I think there’s a lot of racial implications that don’t sit well, if done wrong. But the idea that they worship the gorilla gods is interesting because it’s a movie about the Black Panther who, himself, is a sort of deity in his own right."
As you can see in the new character image below, there are nods to M'Baku's history and the villain's main grievance here will revolve around T'Challa being on the throne and reaching out to the world when he believes Wakanda should remain hidden. "In M’Baku’s worldview, T’Chaka made a huge mistake going to the U.N.," Moore adds. "‘We should never engage with the outside world. That’s a terrible mistake. And if his son is anything like his father, I don’t support him being on the throne.'"
"Politically, he just has different ideology," says Moore of the villain who wants to be king. "Man-Ape is a problematic character for a lot of reasons, but the idea behind Man-Ape we thought was really fascinating. … It’s a line I think we’re walking, and hopefully walking successfully." What do you guys think of this? As always, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section down below.
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