Marvel fans are about to get a double dose of MCU in the coming weeks. First, there’s the D23 Expo, which will be followed by the San Diego Comic-Con next week. So it remains to be seen if they will recycle footage, but considering that next week also happens to be Marvel’s 10th anniversary at SDCC, odds are there will be something special happening to commemorate the event.

So while we wait and see what that is, some new Black Panther coverage has dropped, and it hints at the political instability that is happening at Wakanda since T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) has returned from the events of Captain America: Civil War. Find out more about this in the full story, below.

EW provided the in-depth report on Marvel Studios’ upcoming film. From what we know so far, there will be a fight for the throne. But the fight over Vibranium will also be a key plot point. For those who aren’t familiar with Marvel Comics’ lore, Vibranium is a rare kind of metal that only exists in the African nation, which has remained hidden from the outside world out of fear from those who seek to use the metal for their nefarious use. It was first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger where it was revealed that Cap’s shield is composed of the very rare metal. We heard about it a second time in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the titular villain travels to the outskirts of Wakanda and steals from the nefarious Vibranium dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis).

It’s for that very reason that Wakanda conceals itself from the outside world. But the African nation also grows a heart-shaped herb that is enriched with Vibranium, and anyone who consumes it is given superhuman strength.

Klaue will be sporting a metal arm that uses Vibranium to emit a sonic pulse. But that isn’t his only weapon. They guy knows so many secrets about Wakanda, that if any of it got out, it would put the country in imminent danger. As we’ve seen in the first trailer, he clearly holds all the cards and has no problem with releasing those secrets to the highest bidder. So he teams up with Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a young a dissident from the country and aspiring prince, who seeks to take the throne away from T’Challa.

To make matters worse, fellow Wakandian tribal leaders fear that T’Challa will repeat the same mistakes that his father did by exposing too much of their once-secret nation to the outside world. Of this, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) says:

But Black Panther will not be alone. He’ll be aided by Nakia (Lupita Nyong), a covert agent whose job is to Wakanda’s secrets from getting out to the public and smoke out those who threaten to leak them.

We’ll be learning more about the film in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king””and Black Panther””is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16, 2018

[Source: EW]