News: 🎞️ Axios PM: Next for "Black Panther"

Friday, November 11, 2022

🎞️ Axios PM: Next for "Black Panther"

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Axios PM

By Mike Allen · Nov 11, 2022

🇺🇸 Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us on Veterans Day. Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 580 words, a 2.5-min. read.

🎓 Breaking: The Education Department removed the application for President Biden's student debt relief program from its website after a federal judge in Texas struck down the program last night.

"Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program," the application website says. "As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders." Keep reading.

🎞️ 1 big thing: "Black Panther" juggernaut

Danai Gurira (left), and Letitia Wright as Shuri, in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Photo: Marvel Studios via AP

The long-awaited "Black Panther" sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," is a cultural milestone packing a financial punch — with $350 million expected this weekend at the global box office.

Why it matters: "Black Panther" gave Black America a hero and representative on the big screen, Axios Local managing editor Delano Massey reports.

Now the franchise has to move forward with a new leader after the death of Chadwick Boseman, the beloved actor who portrayed T'Challa in the original film.

The sequel "puts Black women first and foremost in a movie," "Black Panther" novelist Jesse Holland told Axios.

Before the Black Panther came onto the scene in 1966, the superhero world "only envisioned white people as heroes, and Black people as victims or sidekicks," Holland said.

"This is, frankly, why Afrofuturism began," Holland told Axios. "There are Black people who want to see us in comic books. We had to start writing it ourselves to ensure the correct portrayal."

Watch a trailer ... Go deeper: Why Disney needs "Wakanda Forever," by Axios' Hope King.

2. 🎥 Charted: "Black Panther" tipping point

Data: Axios research. Chart: Will Chase and Nicki Camberg/Axios

"Black Panther" was a true tipping point for diversity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Axios visuals team reports.

11 of the 16 Marvel movies released since (setting aside ensemble casts) have had a woman or a person of color at the center.

What's next: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," premiering today, will be the first-ever Marvel movie with a Black woman lead.

Go deeper: See this story as a comic strip.

A message from Amazon

"That's when it went from being a job to an actual career"

After moving from job to job, Ariel discovered Amazon's Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship and found both a career and a passion.

The results: Graduates of the apprenticeship see their wages increase up to 40% after completing the program.

Watch the conversation.

3. Catch up quick

Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Above: Musicians battle the rain today during a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of Veterans Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Former President Trump lashed out against Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) today, saying he "couldn't have won without me." Keep reading.
🇺🇦 Jubilant residents welcomed Ukrainian troops into the key southern city of Kherson today after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion in February. —Reuters
It took less than a week for FTX to go from the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange to filing for bankruptcy today. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned. Read the statement ... Go deeper.

4. Dedicated today: National Native American Veterans Memorial

The National Native American Veterans Memorial, on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. Photo: Matailong Du for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian

Native American veterans gathered in Washington today to dedicate a memorial honoring their military service, Axios' Shawna Chen reports.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian expected more than 1,500 Native veterans from 125 tribes in a procession along the National Mall ahead of the dedication ceremony.

The National Native American Veterans Memorial opened two years ago, but the pandemic delayed the dedication ceremony until now.

The landmark is the first national memorial honoring the military contributions of Indigenous people — who serve in the U.S. Armed Services at a higher rate than any other group, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

More than 140,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives who are veterans currently live in the U.S., the department says.