When the first Black Panther film released, it caught on as a huge cultural trend in the sports world. For instance, football players were imitating the ‘Wakanda Forever’ pose to celebrate goals, and Serena Williams even wore a Black Panther-inspired outfit to the 2018 French Open.
Now, with the highly anticipated sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, finally coming out this week, the sports world is abuzz yet again.
This is how the sports world is showing love to Marvel’s latest addition to their Cinematic Universe.
Red Bull x Marvel
As we head into the last two races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix will be crucial for Sergio Perez to become runner-up in the Drivers Championships. And this race weekend, he will be chanelling the Black Panther energy he needs—in a very special way.
Earlier today, Sergio Perez showed off his helmet for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and it’s enough to turn any Marvel fan into a Formula 1 fan (if they haven’t been turned already, that is).
Celebrating the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Perez’s helmet for this weekend is gray with the symbol of the Black Panther on the top and back.
In his post, Perez even tweets, “Hope we can be as fast as Black Panther”. And with only a slim five-point lead over Charles Leclerc, we’re sure he genuinely does.
At the Premiere
Last week, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered in the United Kingdom. And among all the celebrities and stars in attendance, several athletes graced the red carpet as well. Most notably, Chelsea FC star Mason Mount stole headlines for his boxy Burberry suit.
And, with the World Cup only a matter of days away, perhaps Mount took some inspiration from the Marvel movie.
But it wasn’t only Mason Mount who took time out of his week to dapper up and see the film. Other star athletes also stunned on the red carpet, including West Ham striker Michail Antonio, and British boxers Derek Chisora, David Haye, and Chris Eubank Jr., and Nicola Adams.
NBA x Marvel
In case you missed it, late last month, the NBA partnered with Marvel Studios ahead of the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The campaign was called ‘NBA Forever’.
In collaboration with Marvel, the NBA released a series of promotional content, including an exclusive sneak peak into the movie on their digital platforms.
In addition to this, NBA stars attended the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever LA premiere, and several players also recorded videos where they talk about what the movie meant to them. All of this was exclusive to the NBA app, in promotion of both the movie and the league.
Clearly, the hype around Marvel’s newest movie has been big, especially in the sports community. But with the movie finally released this week, fans will get to see what all the buzz is about.
And, as athletes have adopted the iconic scenes, moments, and even songs from the first Black Panther movie, it’s likely that we’ll see a return of that with the release of its sequel—after all, we already are.
Banner image from Sergio Perez on Twitter.