In a recent interview with Inverse, Anthony Mackie disclosed that before he became Sam Wilson, a.k.a. the Falcon, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he repeatedly wrote Marvel Studios wanting to play Black Panther.
Mackie bet everything on playing T’Challa because he believed Black Panther was the only notable Black superhero the iconic movie studio might consider turning into a motion picture.
“I had been contacting Marvel a lot about Black Panther,” the 8 Mile star explained. “I had written them letters. I was trying to find a way to make them make Black Panther. And I wanted to be Black Panther because growing up I f*cking loved Black Panther.”
Nate Moore, a longtime Marvel producer, and the filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, who were working on Captain America: The Winter Solider at the time, sat down with Mackie.
Mackie assumed it was for Black Panther even though no one had specifically stated what role they were meeting with him for at the time.
Anthony Mackie Tried Hard To Play Black Panther
“I’ll never forget. ‘Listen, so we’re doing this movie. We want you to be in it. We can’t say what character you’re playing or who else is going to be in it. Would you do it?’ And that was it,” said Joe Russo. The Hurt Locker actor chimed in. “I was like, ‘You know what, I like y’all dudes. I’ll do it. I’ll go on this ride with you.’”
Mackie was surprised he received the invitation to portray the Falcon in the MCU rather than Black Panther when it was initially offered to him.
“What other major comic book figure has enough of a presence to have his own movie? So when they hit me up and they were like, ‘Yo, so it’s Sam Wilson,’ I’m like, ‘Really?’,” Mackie furthered.
With the late Chadwick Boseman playing the lead, Marvel ultimately produced its own Black Panther film. In The Winter Soldier (2014), Mackie made his acting debut as Falcon. He later played the role again in blockbuster films like Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Can you imagine Anthony Mackie starring as the lead in Black Panther? Comment below!
Featured Image credit: Walt Disney Company/courtesy Everett Collection
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