The Black Panther solo movie just added another acting heavyweight to a cast that already includes Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, and more. Per Marvel’s announcement, Angela Bassett “who currently stars in American Horror Story, will play Ramonda, mother of T’Challa, aka Black Panther.”

I’ll confess my knowledge of Black Panther comics is limited to a couple of his many different iterations, and I’m not familiar with Ramonda, but it’s worth noting that Wikipedia (which is never wrong) refers to her as T’Challa’s “stepmother” not his mother. In the comics, T’Challa’s biological mother, N’Yami, who died while giving birth to him.

Whether that’s the story Black Panther will tell or not, Bassett’s addition makes Black Panther arguably the strongest cast of any Marvel solo movie to date. Obviously it’s tough to compare with The Avengers or Captain America: Civil War, but I’ll take the lineup above against just about any assemblage of talent Marvel’s put together so far. It’s that good. And if you’re looking forward to Black Panther, and you’re already reading his current comic from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, here’s an additional comic book recommendation for you: Black Panther is also currently appearing in an excellent book called The Ultimates, about a team of superheroes focused on cosmic threats. The series’ first collection, which is available now, follows the group as they try to cure Galactus of his planet-craving hunger, and things only get bolder and wilder from there. It’s terrific. Directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed), Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16, 2018.

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