Black Panther game reportedly in development, with EA as its publisher

It sounds like EA is publishing a video game all about Black Panther, one that sees the player becoming a new version of the character.

The report comes from Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb during his Game Mess Mornings podcast, claiming that the Black Panther game is currently in early development. The internal name for the title is Project Rainier, and is being developed by a new studio led by former Monolith Productions studio head Kevin Stephens.

The “big open world Black Panther Game,” as described by Grubb will see the player taking up the mantle of the superhero after the previous incarnation dies. Apart from that, details are otherwise slim on the title, but it does sound like it will be a single-player title, a departure from EA’s previous live service leanings.

This will obviously be the first time the character has a video game entirely dedicated to them, but isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in a game. Last year, Black Panther joined the highly troubled Marvel’s Avengers in a content filled and free expansion. Prior to that the character appeared in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3.

Black Panther was already a pretty popular character, but obviously exploded in popularity 2018 release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film adaptation. A recent trailer for the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, dropped at Comic-Con, which also revolved around the death of the film’s version of the character. As unfortunately, actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 after a battle with colon cancer.

A video game all about Black Panther could very easily prove to be a hit, particularly considering how few video games star black characters in lead roles. Diversity has improved in numerous games, but often only through character creators, which isn’t the same as having a black character in a leading role.