One Black Panther Creative Decision The Director Regrets Just As Much As Fans

While there are some movies that the majority of viewers would agree have various major flaws, others are much less criticized. Even within major franchises and cinematic universes, some films are better than others, and directors usually tend to agree with the fans and heed everything they have to say.

However, there are some creative decisions that stand between the great movie and its legendary status. What's even sadder is when the team behind it acknowledges the problem with what they're doing but has no way to fix it. Such was the case with Black Panther and the most unpopular villain death in MCU history.

After the film premiered in 2018, it quickly became the second highest-grossing film of the year. Partly due to the MCU's over-the-top hype and the rabid popularity of the franchise as a whole, but mostly due to the quality of the production. The team behind Black Panther looked at the original comic book and took it to another level.

The only bone fans had to pick with the director was the decision to kill Klaw. Portrayed by Andy Serkis, he appeared in both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther, and quickly became a fan-favorite antagonist.

Would Ryan Coogler change Klaw's fate if he had the chance to make the movie again? That's debatable, as the director admitted both the regret he felt for the character's demise and the reasoning behind such a decision. He spoke openly about it in an interview with the Toronto Sun:

“I like Klaw. I was bugged by having to do that. It’s tough when you have to kill characters off and I really did love that character. <...> I love Andy [Serkis], he’s a lovely person. But again, it’s one of those things where when you’ve got so many people in a movie, some of them have to go,” Coogler said.

Unfortunately, these radical decisions were based on the existence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without leaving some characters behind, the story wouldn't be able to progress, and we wouldn't have met some of the other great characters the studio has introduced since Black Panther's premiere.

Whether you agree with the decision to kill the Klaw or not, it still won't stop you from enjoying a little Black Panther rewatch party. You can stream both films in the series in order on Disney Plus.

Source: Toronto Sun