Black Panther featurette explores Oscar-worthy production design, costumes

BLACK PANTHER is currently swiping up key nominations in all the major award races, including AFI, the Critics' Choice, SAG and the Golden Globes – proving it has what it takes to make it to the big show at the Oscars. Marvel and Disney are going hard on the campaign trail and have now put out a new featurette that digs into one of PANTHER’s strongest features, and the one that’s almost guaranteed Oscar attention – the production design and costumes. In the video director Ryan Coogler, production designer Hannah Beachler, costume designer Ruth E. Carter and stars Chadwick Boseman and Angela Bassett discuss the importance of how all of it plays in the story and embraces traditional African roots.

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Between the actors having gold behind them and the “For Your Consideration” at the end, this is a pretty strong advert for the movie’s Oscar potential. While the Academy has seemingly scoffed at the idea of giving major Oscar nominations to superhero movies, this video, in particular, proves how the movie is able to stand out from the pack on a cultural level and show one way the movie has connected with audiences all across the world.

Attached is a special synopsis for the movie for any would-be Oscar voters out there, and it reads:

Black Panther is director Ryan Coogler's take on a modern African hero and a utopian vision of what an uncolonized Africa might look like. The film explores the conflict between two powerful men, one African and one African-American, who are mirror images of each other, each grappling with his own history, home, and very identity. When Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) becomes king of the hidden, technologically advanced kingdom Wakanda, he is forced to defend his throne against rogue mercenary Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Wakanda is also alive with strong, intelligent women-from Wakanda's elite all-female security force, led by Okoye (Danai Gurira), to the international spy Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), to T'Challa's tech-savvy sister (Letitia Wright) and mother (Angela Bassett)-who are portrayed as equals to the men they protect and advise.