“Wakanda Forever” has just taken on a whole new meaning. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture has officially announced that it will be displaying props from the record-smashing superhero movie.
The museum acquired some props from the movie, including the vibranium suit that King T’Challa (aka Chadwick Boseman) wore, an autographed full shooting script of the movie, two pages of an early script and 24 behind-the-scenes photos from the production process during a screening of the film there in February, CNN reports.
We’re excited to announce the acquisition of several objects related to @theblackpanther! ??♀️??♂️??♀️??♂️
Black Panther is the first superhero of African descent to appear in mainstream American comics.
Learn more: https://t.co/dIJp7SLRPh #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/9HIKejU6BJ
— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 20, 2018
According to the Smithsonian NMAAHC, the items will be on display at the museum’s first-ever African American Film Festival which will take place from October 24 through October 27, 2018. There will be feature screenings, discussions, presentations and masterclasses on the art of filmmaking, editing and storytelling, Hello Giggles reports.
Plans to display these items permanently are still under consideration.
“‘Black Panther’ illustrates the progression of blacks in film, an industry that in the past has overlooked blacks, or regulated them to flat, one-dimensional and marginalized figures,” a statement from the Smithsonian read. “The film, like the museum, provides a fuller story of black culture and identity.”
“We are an institution that is committed to telling the story through the African American lens,” Rhea Combs, the museum’s curator of film and photography, told CNN. “What embodies the African American lens better than a film like ‘Black Panther’?”
“I think the film presented notions of African regality, dignity, modernity and respect for culture and tradition that many people felt proud to see represented on screen,” Combs said when explaining why the museum decided to display the “Black Panther” props. “The film festival is as much about celebrating and honoring the past as it is about recognizing and representing the promise of tomorrow, which is precisely what Black Panther represented as well.”
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to be booking my plane tickets.