Marvel Knights: Black Panther TV series

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Not sure if this has been posted, but good stuff anyway:

 

 

'Black Panther' comes to U.S.

Mekeisha Madden Toby / Detroit News Television Writer

Last Updated: January 21. 2011 8:32AM

 

Reginald Hudlin is an eloquent and verbose man but if you want to render him speechless, ask him why the "Marvel Knights: Black Panther" series never aired on television in America. "You'd have to ask BET that," Hudlin, 49, said in a recent phone interview. "The answer they gave me is that they changed their demographic target and they wanted an older, more female audience."

 

Perhaps BET should have given its viewers more credit. After all, "Black Panther" follows the first African-American mainstream superhero and is a Stan Lee creation from the mid-1960s. The title character is an African king named T'Challa, who hails from a fictional African country called Wakanda. T'Challa even has a queen, Storm, a weather changing superhero best known for her X-Men roots. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry played her in the X-Men films.

 

Hudlin updated the strip for Marvel and was working on it before he became BET's entertainment president, a job he held for three years until 2008. Although Hudlin's bosses expressed interest in a series based on the comic book, and produced a number of episodes, the show's life ended when Hudlin's job ended. BET did not respond to questions regarding the show.

 

The series has aired in Australia and online but never on TV in this country. But it looks like Hudlin, who is best known for directing films such as "House Party" and "Boomerang," is getting the last laugh.

 

"Marvel Knights: Black Panther," the six-episode series, is now available on DVD (Shout! Factory, $14.97) and arrived in stores this week.

 

"Look at this amazing cast we put together," Hudlin said, plugging the DVD's release. "You have Djimon Hounsou, a great African actor playing the hero, and he was a fan of the comic."

 

The cast also includes Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard. The latter plays a governmental high up named Dondi Reece.

 

R&B singer Jill Scott does the voice of Storm.

 

"I called Jill and she was like 'I always knew I would play Storm one day.' " Hudlin recalled. "As a kid, it was on her list of things to do."

 

When Hudlin isn't working on his comic book or promoting the television adaptation on DVD, he's working on films and behind the scenes on TV. He recently directed an episode of ABC's hit comedy "Modern Family" as well as installments of "The Office" and "Outsourced," both on NBC.

 

But he'll always be a comic-book nerd at heart.

 

"I'm very happy with it," said Hudlin, a regular at Comic Con, of the show. Check out his adventures on reggiesworld.com, where you can also buy "Marvel Knights: Black Panther." It is also available in comic book stores.

 

"I had never seen actual comic book art come to life," he said. "At least it got made. Now that it's on DVD, more people will get exposed to it."

 

 

 

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110121/ENT10/101210323/‘Black-Panther’-comes-to-U.S.#ixzz1BgJ3nwhz

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