Meet the Marvel Executive Who First Championed ‘Black Panther’

In a risk-averse industry that relies on models of previous successes, Marvel Studios vp development and production Nate Moore faced a dilemma in 2010 when advocating for a big, bold Black Panther film. No one had ever made a $200 million movie with an almost entirely black cast.

“People go, ‘Well, what’s come before?’ ” says Moore, the only black producer in Marvel’s film division. ” ‘It’ll make roughly that, so we’ll invest in that.’ Because [tentpole movies with black casts] aren’t getting made, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. ‘What are you modeling? You didn’t release anything in China. Who knows if China likes black people or not?’ “