Since the release of “Black Panther,” many think-pieces have been written on the topic of whether or not Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger is actually a villain or a hero of the film.
Killmonger arrives in the highly-secretive nation of Wakanda and demands the country use its technology to help the Black diaspora. However, Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa refuses and the two clash over assisting outside nations.
Boseman has said he feels T’Challa is the true enemy because of his denial but co-star Sterling K. Brown believes Killmonger still holds the villain title.
“He is a villain because while his intentions and [my character and his father] N’Jobu’s intentions for that fact are honorable, the didn’t necessarily go about it in a way that would bring about the change that they want.”
Still, Brown hopes T’Challa can realize that Killmonger is “not without a point.” He explains Wakanda’s denial of access to resources and technology to others begs the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
And while T’Challa firmly answered that question in the film by saying he’s the king of Wakanda and is therefore unresponsible for everyone else, he announces at the U.N. that the nation will be sharing its resources with areas that need it, including Killmonger’s stomping grounds of Oakland, Calif.
