Marvel shattered barriers with the release of Black Panther, bringing audiences the first-ever film centered on a Black superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before this groundbreaking work, the genre largely focused on white superheroes stepping in to save the world. Among its star-studded cast, the film featured Sterling K. Brown in a small but pivotal role. However, had he been clairvoyant about the film’s release and subsequent massive success, he might have positioned himself to earn millions from the project.
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The highly respected and decorated actor sat down with Ryan Clark on the Pivot Podcast for an intriguing conversation. Clark asked him about a great opportunity he passed on involving the 2018 film Black Panther.
Brown reminisced about reading the novel back in 2001, including the whole series written by Reginald Hudlin. At that time, his friend urged him to buy the rights to the comic in case someone decided to make a movie based on it.
However, his pessimism took over, asserting that no one was going to take on a project revolving around a Black superhero. He missed out on millions when Marvel decided to do so.
“A friend of mine was like do you like comics and I was like I don’t read a lot of comics but I do read these Black Panther comics. He said you should get rights to that so in case they make a movie, you would be able to have a piece of that. I said to him in 2008, man, they ain’t gonna make a Black superhero movie.”
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When Brown was presented with the script of the Black Panther, he vowed to get a role, knowing it would be a game-changer. After auditioning for a part he didn’t get, he received an offer for the role of N’Jobu instead.
He happily accepted the role, promising to do it justice because he wanted to experience the joy of being part of something bigger than himself. And he fulfilled his promise with a captivating performance.
