Story highlights
- The film premiere was Monday night
- It opens February 16
(CNN)Welcome to Wakanda.
"Black Panther" held its star-studded world premiere Monday night in Los Angeles, and based on social media, it was all fans hoped it would be.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, the Marvel movie starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o and Michael B. Jordan is one of this year's most eagerly awaited films and an expected blockbuster.
Boseman plays T'Challa, a prince of the fictitious African nation of Wakanda and a superhero known as Black Panther.
The action in the film takes place after the story in "Captain America: Civil War."
In "Black Panther," T'Challa must return to his homeland to take the throne following the death of his father.
Photos from the red carpet (which in this case was purple, the color of royalty) quickly spread on Twitter and Instagram.
Early reviews indicate "Black Panther" is both political and a worth entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dubbed MCU.
Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango, tweeted that it's "the James Bond of the MCU. "
"You've seen nothing like this in a superhero movie - it's bold, beautiful & intense, but there's a depth & spiritualness that is unlike anything Marvel has ever done," he wrote. "It's 100% African & it is dope ..."
"Black Panther" hits theaters February 16.
