Why Did Any of That Happen: Marvel’s Nate Moore Talks The Future of Black Panther
2019 marks 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought to America, the land of the free. Elected Virginia politicians dressing up in blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes to the side, making up for this shackled time and stained legacy is taking on many forms. The obvious question should be, “Why does any of this have to happen?” Escaping into a world of fiction, some of the best healing for Americans of all colors has come in the form of Marvel’s Black Panther, now nominated for seven Academy Awards. The 2018 theatrical release gripped box office revenues in excess of $700 million. It has taken several centuries before a motion picture could tell a story of a sheltered and protected African civilization, blind to a salivating bare eye.
Still today, accepting how dismissive Hollywood studios can be in granting experienced African American men an equal opportunity to hang a shingle, he could never ascend to the ranks of executive producer much less a production executive at Marvel Studios. But this is exactly who Nate Moore is. The 40-year-old Los Angeles resident is in large part responsible for the pulverizing blasts of revenue that triggered Marvel’s 2018 wins.
Moore earned his bachelor’s degree in communications studies from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In whatever manner he defines his free time, Moore is a nascent triathlete and part-time coach for Team in Training, an organization dedicated to fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Somewhere north of Wilshire and the Valley, Moore is rumored to reveal his own secret identity through improv comedy. The strumming of melodic guitar chords and cooking for his family and friends might be another indication of what Moore does before he suits up for Marvel. What is revealed in his private world is his own business, but it might give us a clue as to how he has brought profit, boom and victory to a vast Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It seemed Marvel strategically released Black Panther before the last Avengers and Deadpool installments. Have you noticed a trend for success that ties back to Black Panther?
NM: [At] Marvel Comics we’re always pretty diverse and forward thinking in that regard, right? There are characters from all over the world. And even in DC Comics, I think comics in general, because of the medium, tended to be a bit more progressive than traditional mediums are because the risk was lower, right? So, we can draw these characters and bring them to life. If they don’t work, it’s not that big a deal.
Did you notice, foresee or anticipate any kind of unifying theme or reaction from audiences after they saw the film?
NM: Everybody seems to dig T’Challa’s speech at the end [of Black Panther]. And the notion that we are all one tribe, and we should be supporting each other regardless of sort of race or ethnicity or nationality, that that has resonated so much I think speaks to where we are at as a culture. And through that desire for leadership and for messaging, that is something that wants to unite us rather than divide us, I think. The notion that most people actually want to come together I think is really powerful.
How would an Asian lead for the Marvel character Sunfire be received by audiences now that the Marvel Universe in showcasing more of its ethnically-diverse characters?
NM: Sunfire is a character that I’ve known forever because I’m a big nerd and read X-Men comics and loved him. And I think as we, Marvel Studios, try to tell more stories, it is incumbent upon us to try to find characters like that and bring them to the screen. They’re interesting. They’re good characters. They make the films better. Why not?
How does Ryan Coogler compare to other Marvel directors? What is Marvel’s selection process for its directors?
NM: If you look at the filmmakers that we’re attract to, none of our filmmakers necessarily have track records [of] doing big giant movies. Taiki Waititi definitely didn’t before doing Thor. Jon Watts definitely didn’t before doing Spiderman Homecoming. James Gunn didn’t before Guardians of the Galaxy. The Rooster brothers didn’t before Captain America 2, 3, or Avengers 3 and 4. We have better luck with people who aren’t sort of steeped in the traditional sort of big-movie-studio-kind-of-system because our system is also not traditional. And Ryan was no different. He is a fantastic storyteller. He is great with actors. He is great with story. He doesn’t have experience doing a film of this size, but we knew we could build a team around him that would allow him to bring what he does so well into our [Marvel] universe.
Audiences are seeing all the hard work that went into creating Wakanda, an African country also seen in the Avengers: Infinity War. Were you surprised at how it was received?
NM: What I am probably more surprised with is how sort of non-African-American audiences also are finding pride in that. So, they’re coming and starting to have an appreciation for Wakanda and a curiosity about Africa, which I think is sort of less intuitive. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but that notion that now everybody is falling in love with this place for different reasons kind of at the same level is really cool and probably more surprising, frankly.
Who are T’Chala’s enemies in the Marvel Universe that you have at your disposal for his next nemesis?
NM: There are villains in the larger Marvel Universe we could pull from. What is the story that puts T’Challa on his back most? Like, who’s going to challenge him the most the way that Killmonger did, but we definitely have ideas of where we can go for an antagonist that I think will both challenge T’Challa and illuminate his character in a new way.
Do you believe Black Panther has made it easier for studios to open films oversees with people of color?
NM: So, now Chad [Boseman] and Lupita[Nyong’o]and Michael B. Jordan and Dunai[Gurira]and Daniel[Kaluuya]are more recognizable. So, that when there are other films that maybe they are a part of… or a small part of, they’re easier to sell because now there is proof. Now they bring value in the same way that the Chris Pines of the world and the other actors who get to be in these movies that travel bring value.
How do you prepare yourself for a sequel?
NM: (Moore releases a healthy laugh) I think [Marvel President] Kevin [Feige] has said this. Even in post [production], we started talking about what a sequel can be. The trap I think always with any kind of success is altering the trajectory of what you want to do as a response to that success. Hopefully, we can, in the same way we did with this film, not overreact to any one or other idea and kind of stay true to what we as filmmakers want to do.
Moore and Black Panther will eagerly vie in this year’s Academy Awards for Best Picture. Their fierce competition includes Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, BlacKkKlansman, Green Book, Vice, A Star is Born and Roma.
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