Black Panther

[First lines]

Young N'Jadaka:
Baba.

N'Jobu:
Yes, my son?

Young N'Jadaka:
Tell me a story.

N'Jobu:
Which one?

Young N'Jadaka:
The story of home.

N'Jobu:
Millions of years ago, a meteorite made of vibranium, the strongest substance in the universe, struck the continent of Africa, affecting the plant life around it. And when the time of men came, five tribes settled on it and called it Wakanda. The tribes lived in constant war with each other until a warrior shaman received a vision from the panther goddess Bast, who led him to the Heart-Shaped Herb, a plant that granted him superhuman strength, speed, and instincts. The warrior became king and the first Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda. Four tribes agreed to live under the king's rule, but the Jabari tribe isolated themselves in the mountains. The Wakandans used vibranium to develop technology more advanced than any other nation, but as Wakanda thrived, the world around it descended further into chaos. To keep vibranium safe, the Wakandans vowed to hide in plain sight, keeping the truth of their power from the outside world.

Young N'Jadaka:
And we still hide, Baba?

N'Jobu:
Yes.

Young N'Jadaka:
Why?

Okoye:
Just don't freeze when you see her (Nakia).

T'Challa:
What are you talking about? I never freeze.

[Later, right as T'Challa comes in to save her]

T'Challa:
Nakia. Hi.

Okoye:
You froze.

[the next day, T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye meet Queen Mother Ramonda and Princess Shuri]

Shuri:
Did he freeze?

Okoye:
[teasing] Like an antelope in headlights.

[they laugh]

T'Challa:
[somewhat irritated] Are you finished?

[In 1992, N'Jobu and Zuri (posing as an American named James) are discussing possible plans to break N'Jadaka's mother out of prison as a TV is on to show the Los Angeles riots]

N'Jobu:
Hey, look. If we get in and out quick, there will be no worries. You and the van come in from the west around the corner and laying right here. Me and the twins pull up right here leaving this car behind.

[N'Jobu and Zuri hears a plane.]

N'Jobu:
Hide the straps.

[Zuri hides the guns inside a pull apart closet and hides with the door. N'Jobu pull down his an African tapestry to hide his secret plans and peeks outside the curtain to see his son playing basketball with his friends.]

Zuri:
Yo, is it the feds?

N'Jobu:
No.

[There's knocking on the door and Zuri walks over to the door with a loaded handgun. He looks through the peephole to see two members of the Dora Milaje carrying spears]

Zuri:
It's these two Grace Jones looking chicks. They're holding spears.

N'Jobu:
[realizing who the women are] Open it.

Zuri:
You serious?

N'Jobu:
They won't knock again!

[Zuri opens the door for the women who walk in]

N'Jobu:
I observed for as long as I could. Their leaders have been assassinated. Communities flooded with drugs and weapons. They are overly policed and incarcerated. All over the planet, our people suffer because they don't have the tools to fight back. With vibranium weapons they can overthrow all countries and Wakanda can rule them all, the right way.

T'Chaka:
[to his brother] Did you think you were the only spy we sent to the States? [Zuri reveals himself]

T'Challa:
And I can't wait to see what kind of updates you made to your ceremonial outfit.

[Shuri flips the bird at T'Challa as she walks away.]

Ramonda:
Shuri...

Shuri:
Sorry, Mother.

Zuri:
So, your mission did not go as planned.

T'Challa:
What happened to my uncle, N'Jobu? My father told me he disappeared. There was a man today wearing a ring identical to this one.

Zuri:
It is not possible.

T'Challa:
He helped Klaue escaped from us and he was wearing this ring. My grandfather's ring! Do not tell me what is impossible, Tell me the truth!

Zuri:
Some truths... [exhales deeply] are too much to bear, T'Challa.

T'Challa:
That is not your choice to make. What happened to him?

Zuri:
I promised the king to say nothing.

T'Challa:
[irritated]I AM YOUR KING NOW!!

Zuri:
Your uncle took a War dog assignment in America. Your father placed me there to observe. Unbeknownst to him, your uncle fell in love with an American woman, they had a child. The hardship he saw there radicalized your uncle.

[Flashback with T'Chaka confronting his brother, N'Jobu.]

N'Jobu:
I observed for as long as I could. Their leaders have been assassinated. Communities flooded with drugs and weapons. They are overly policed and incarcerated. All over the planet, our people suffer because they don't have the tools to fight back. With vibranium weapons, they can overthrow all countries, and Wakanda can rule them all, the right way.

Zuri:
He knew your father would not support this, so your uncle betrayed us.

T'Challa:
[shocked] No!

Zuri:
He helped Klaue steal Vibranium.

T'Challa:
No.

T'Chaka:
You will return home at once where you will face the council and inform them of your crimes.

Zuri:
He drew his weapon on me.

[N'Jobu pulls a loaded handgun from the back pocket of his pants planning to kill Zuri, but T'Chaka kills him by impaling him with panther claws on his suit.]

Zuri:
Your father killed his own brother to save my life.

T'Chaka:
Speak nothing of this.

T'Challa:
And the child?

Zuri:
We left him. We had to maintain the lie.

T'Chaka:
(speaking in isi-Xhosa) Yintoni engalunganga, nyana wam? (translation: "What's wrong, my son?")

T'Challa:
(also speaking in isi-Xhosa) Andikulungele, Baba. (translation: "I'm not ready, Baba.")

T'Chaka:
Ngaba awuzange ulungele ukuba ngukosi wakho ubomi bonke? Ngaba awuzange uqeqeshe kwaye ufunde, ube ngecala lam? (translation: "Are you not ready to be your master all the life? Did you not train and learn, to blame me?")

T'Challa:
(switching to English) That is not what I am talking about. I am not ready to be without you.

T'Chaka:
(also switching to English) A man who has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father. Have I ever failed you?

T'Challa:
Never.

T'Challa:
What are these?

Shuri:
The real question is [points at T'Challa's sandals] WHAT ARE THOSE??? Why do you have your toes out in my lab?

T'Challa:
What, you don't like my royal sandals? I wanted to go old school for my first day.

Shuri:
I bet the elders loved that!

[showing T'Challa the new suits]

Shuri:
Strike it.

T'Challa:
Anywhere?

Shuri:
Mmmhmm.

[T'Challa kicks the suit across the room]

Shuri:
NOT THAT HARD, GENIUS!!!

T'Challa:
You told me to strike it! You didn't say how hard!

Shuri:
I invite you to my lab and you just kick things around?!

Everett Ross:
[T'Challa leaves a craps table] Hey, you won!

Thirsty Gambler:
You know what? I'm just going to take these chips, and set them over here for safekeeping.

[Shuri drives her car and runs over someone]

Shuri:
What was that?

T'Challa:
Don't worry about it, you're doing fine!

[Everett Ross interrogates Ulysses Klaue, as T'Challa and Okoye listen in]

Ulysses Klaue:
[cuffed to a chair, singing] "Don't hurt me, no more! What is love? Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more..." [casually] You know, you really shouldn't trust the Wakandans. I'm much more your speed.

Everett Ross:
I don't trust anybody, not in this job. But what I AM interested in is that arm cannon out there. Where'd you get that?

Ulysses Klaue:
It's an old mining tool that I made some adjustments to. But I can get, uh, you one if you like.

Everett Ross:
Why don't you give me the name of your supplier, and I'll ask them?

Ulysses Klaue:
He's right outside. Why don't you ask him yourself?

Everett Ross:
What, T'Challa? You're telling me that weapon on your arm is from Wakanda?

Ulysses Klaue:
[winks and clicks] Bingo. What do you actually know about Wakanda?

Everett Ross:
Um... Shepherds, textiles, cool outfits...

Ulysses Klaue:
It's all a front. Explorers searched for it for centuries. "El Dorado, the Golden City" - they thought they could find it in South America, but it was in Africa the whole time. A technological marvel. All because it was built on a mound of the most valuable metal known to man. Isipho, they call it, "the gift". Vibranium.

Everett Ross:
Vibranium, yeah. Strongest metal on earth.

Ulysses Klaue:
It's not just a metal. They sew it into their clothes. It powers their city, their tech, their weapons.

Everett Ross:
Weapons?

Ulysses Klaue:
[chuckles] Yeah. Makes my arm cannon look like a leaf blower.

Everett Ross:
That's a nice fairy tale, but Wakanda is a Third-World Country, and you stole all their Vibranium.

Ulysses Klaue:
"I stole..."?! [laughs hysterically, then snaps and jolts the chair angrily] "ALL OF IT"?! I took a tiny piece of it. They have a mountain full of it. They've been mining it for thousands of years, and they still haven't scratched the surface. I'm the only outsider who's seen it and got out of there alive. If you don't believe me, you ask your friend what his suit is made of. What his claws are made of.

Ulysses Klaue:
You... you really want to go to Wakanda? They're savages! [shows his scarred brand] This is what they do to people like us.

Killmonger:
I don't worry 'bout no brand. Check these out. Each one is for a kill. [shows scars on his arms]

Ulysses Klaue:
You can scar yourself as much as you like. To them, you'll just be an outsider. You're crazy to think that you can just walk in there. [Killmonger pulls down his lower lip to reveal his Wakandan War Dog tattoo] And to think I saw you as some crazy American.

[Klaue laughs before Killmonger shoots Klaue in the head]

T'Challa:
[in Xhosa] Kuthetha. (translation: "Speak.")

W'Kabi:
Speak.

Killmonger:
I'm standing in your house. Serving justice to a man who stole your vibranium and murdered your people. Justice your king couldn't deliver.

T'Challa:
I don't care that you brought Klaue. The only reason I don't kill you where you stand is because I know who you are. Now what do you want?

Killmonger:
I want the throne. [the tribal elders scoff and roll their eyes] Y'all sittin' up here comfortable. Must feel good. There's about two billion people all over the world that looks like us, but their lives are a lot harder. Wakanda has the tools to liberate them all.

T'Challa:
And what tools are those?

Killmonger:
Vibranium. Your weapons.

T'Challa:
Our weapons will not be used to wage war on the world. It is not our way to be judge, jury and executioner for people who are not our own.

Killmonger:
Not your own? But didn't life start right here on this continent? So ain't all people your people?

T'Challa:
I am not king of all people. I am king of Wakanda. And it is my responsibility to make sure our people are safe and that vibranium does not fall into the hands of a person like you.

Ramonda:
Son, we have entertained this charlatan for too long. Reject his request.

Killmonger:
Oho, I ain't requestin' nothin'. Ask who I am.

Shuri:
You are Erik Stevens. An American Black Operative. A mercenary nicknamed Killmonger. That's who you are.

Killmonger:
That's not my name, Princess. Ask me, king.

T'Challa:
No.

Killmonger:
Ask me.

T'Challa:
Take him away.

River Tribe Elder:
[in Xhosa] Ungubani? (translation: "Who are you?")

Killmonger:
[in Xhosa] Ndingumtsha! Unyana wePrince NiJobu! (translation: "I am N'Jadaka! Son of Prince N'Jobu!") [the tribal elders are stunned]

Mining Tribe Elder:
[in Xhosa] Unyana wePrince NiJobu? (translation: "Son of Prince N'Jobu?")

Killmonger:
[in English] I found my daddy with panther claws in his chest! You ain't the son of a king! You're the son of a murderer!

Ramonda:
[in Xhosa] Uxoki! (translation: "You're lying!") [in English] Lies!

W'Kabi:
I'm afraid not, Queen Mother. [presents N'Jobu's royal ring]

Killmonger:
Hey, Auntie. I'm exercising my blood right. The challenge for the mantles of king and Black Panther.

Ramonda:
Do not do this, T'Challa.

M'Kathu:
As the son of Prince N'Jobu, he is within his rights.

Ramonda:
He has no rights here!

River Tribe Elder:
The challenge will take weeks to prepare!

Killmonger:
Weeks? I don't need weeks. The whole country ain't gotta be there. I just need him and somebody to get me outta these chains.

Ramonda:
T'Challa, what do you know of this?

T'Challa:
I accept your challenge.

Zuri/James:
Erik, stop! I am the cause of your father's death. Not him. Take me.

Killmonger:
[Killmonger looks at Zuri for a moment... then takes his spear...] I'll take you both, Uncle James! [...and sends it straight through Zuri's chest!]

T'Challa:
NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ross:
Alright, where am I?

Shuri:
Don't scare me like that, Colonizer!

Ross:
Colo... what? My name is Everett.

Shuri:
Yes, I know. Everett Ross, former Air Force pilot, now CIA.

Ross:
Is this Wakanda?

Shuri:
[sarcastically] No, it's Kansas.

Okoye:
[in isi-Xhosa] Ukuba uya kukuthinta kwakhona, ndiza kumbethela kwideski. (translation: "If he touches you again, I'm going to impale him to the desk.")

Ross:
Does she speak English?

Okoye:
When she wants to.

[Agent Ross walks away to interrogate the imprisoned Klaue]

T'Challa:
[Chiding] Okoye...

Okoye:
Bah!

T'Challa:
Play nice!

Okoye:
Americans.

T'Challa:
My suit is good.

Shuri:
Old tech. Functional, but old. "People are shooting at me. Wait, let me put my helmet on!"

T'Challa:
I never yielded! And as you can see: I am not dead!

Killmonger:
All that challenge sh*t is over with. I'm the king now. Get those planes in the air, carry out the mission! W'Kabi! Man, kill this clown!

Okoye:
W'Kabi! The challenge is not complete!

Border Tribesman:
What will we do?

W'Kabi:
Border Tribe! [in Xhosa] Kill him! [The Border tribesmen charge into battle against T'Challa. A furious Okoye rounds on Killmonger]

Okoye:
You! Your heart is so full of hatred, you're not fit to be a king! [Okoye and the Dora Milaje attack Killmonger as he activates his own Black Panther suit]

Killmonger:
Wassup, princess? [attacks Shuri]

Shuri:
You'll never be a true king.

Killmonger:
I don't need a suit to kill you. Your reign is over! You sat up there, safe and protected.

T'Challa:
You want to see us become just like the people you hate so much! Divide and conquer the land as they did!

Killmonger:
Nah, I learned from my enemies. Beat them at they own game.

T'Challa:
You have become them! You will destroy the world, Wakanda included!

Killmonger:
[close to breaking down] The world took everything away from me! Everything I ever loved! But I'mma make sure we're even. Imma track down anyone who would even think about being loyal to you! And I'm gonna put their ass in the dirt right next to Zuri!

W'Kabi:
Would you kill me, my love?

Okoye:
For Wakanda? [she holds her spear at his throat] Without question!

[T'Challa has stabbed Killmonger in the chest]

T'Challa:
Maybe we can still heal you.

Killmonger:
Why? So you can just lock me up? Nah. Just bury me in the ocean... with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, 'Cause they knew death... was better than bondage.... [pulls the dagger out of his chest and collapses]

[In Oakland]

Shuri:
When you said you would take me to California for the first time, I thought you meant Coachella, or Disneyland. Why here?

T'Challa:
This is where our father killed our uncle.

Shuri:
[sees a condemnation notice] They're tearing it down. Good.

T'Challa:
They are not tearing it down, I bought this building. And that building. And that one over there. This will be the first Wakandan International Outreach Center.

[Post-credits scene:
in a small village at Wakanda, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes comes out of a hut. He looks around. A group of children call him "White Wolf". He approaches Shuri]

Shuri:
Good morning, Sergeant Barnes.

Bucky Barnes:
Bucky.

Shuri:
How are you feeling?

Bucky:
Good. [pause] Thank you.

Shuri:
Come. [starts walking away] Much more for you to learn.

[Bucky pauses for a moment, looking at the landscape, then follows Shuri.]

T'Challa / Black Panther:
[angered at why T'Chaka abandoned N'Jobu's son in the US] YOU WERE WRONG! ALL OF YOU WERE WRONG! To turn your backs on the rest of the world! We let the fear of our discovery stop us from doing what is right. No more! I cannot stay here with you. I cannot rest while he sits on the throne. He is a monster of our own making. I must take the mantle back. I must! I must right these wrongs.

T'Challa / Black Panther:
[addressing the UN in Austria] My name is King T'Challa, son of King T'Chaka. I am the sovereign ruler of the nation of Wakanda. And for the first time in our history, we will be sharing our knowledge and resources with the outside world. Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this Earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth. More connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.

N'Jadaka / Erik "Killmonger" Stevens:
I lived my entire life waiting for this moment. I trained, I lied, I killed just to get here, I killed in America, Afghanistan, Iraq. I took life from my own brothers and sisters right here on this continent, and all this death, just so I could kill you.

King T'Chaka:
A man who has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father. Have I ever failed you?