Why Michael B. Jordan Was Never The Same After Black Panther

The role of Killmonger took a serious toll on star Michael B. Jordan.

After gaining mainstream attention through films like the heart-wrenching 2013 biographical drama Fruitvale Station, the 2015 sports drama Creed, and the 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four, Jordan joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor reunited with his Fruitvale Station and Creed director Ryan Coogler for 2018's super smash-hit Black Panther, in which Jordan played Erik Killmonger Stevens, aka Killmonger.

In Black Panther, Killmonger is more than just a run-of-the-mill baddie who wants to take down the hero. He has a connection to Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa, and an emotionally driven purpose for wanting to overthrow him as the leader of Wakanda.

The film reveals that Killmonger's birth name is N'Jadaka and that he's the cousin of King T'Challa. After T'Challa's father, the then-King of Wakanda T'Chaka, and the Wakandan statesman Zuri confront Killmonger's father N'Jobu about his plans to reveal Wakanda's technology to the rest of the world, T'Chaka kills N'Jobu. In order to perpetuate a lie that N'Jobu simply disappeared while undercover, T'Chaka and Zuri leave N'Jobu's son behind and fly back to Wakanda.

That child grows up to be Killmonger, who eventually becomes a black ops soldier for the U.S. military before partnering with Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer with access to Wakandan technology. It's a long way to the throne, but Killmonger's plan finally ends with a battle against T'Challa that mirrors the one between their fathers. After his defeat, Killmonger chooses to die as a free man rather than be held as a prisoner for the rest of his life.

Certainly, Killmonger is a character whose roots are planted in pain and trauma. For Jordan, it was difficult to remain in that headspace for an extended period of time. In a November 2018 interview on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Jordan opened up to the radio host about the mental weight he was left with after portraying Killmonger.

"It was one of those things that I didn't know what was going on. I never was in a character for that long of a period of time and [never] was, I guess, that dark, that lonely, that painful. So coming out of it, I thought, 'Oh yeah, business as usual. I can just go back home, I'll cut my hair off, and everything will be back to normal.'"

However, that plan didn't exactly pan out. Jordan found it more difficult than he had anticipated to fully step away from Killmonger; according to ComicBook.com, the actor needed a month of time and therapy sessions to fully close the door on the Black Panther villain. Jordan explained,

"I found myself kind of in the routine of being isolated and went out of my way to make sure I was by myself and didn't say too much more than the usual. Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and like a little bit depressed."

Ultimately, Jordan said that reconnecting with friends and loved ones and talking things out helped him get back to normal.

Killmonger might have been a difficult role for Jordan, but it also further helped skyrocket him to superstardom. The same year Black Panther hit the big screen, Jordan booked two starring roles in an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 and in Creed II. In 2019, he headlined Just Mercy, a true story about systemic problems in the criminal justice system. Jordan is also moving behind the camera and producing new shows, including Netflix's superhero origin story Raising Dion, in which he co-stars as a scientist named Mark Warren.

While the movie industry remains more or less on hold as of the making of this video, Jordan has some exciting projects lined up nonetheless. Beyond his late 2020 release Without Remorse, he's set to team up with Coogler once again for Wrong Answer, a film about cheating scandals in Atlanta's public schools. Additionally, Jordan is set to star in a new remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, among other, more secretive projects.

If you want to relive Jordan's journey as Killmonger, Black Panther is streaming on Disney+ now.

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