Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan revealed why he started going to therapy after playing Killmonger in the hit 2018 MCU film. Black Panther is considered one of the best movies in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and broke new ground by focusing on the franchise’s first Black superhero, played by Chadwick Boseman. Jordan starred opposite the late actor as the movie’s villain, Killmonger.
Stepping into the shoes of a villain like Killmonger deeply affected Jordan, to the point where he went to therapy afterwards. During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the actor admitted Killmonger “stuck with me for a bit.”
In therapy, he was able to talk through why he was feeling this way, and it ended up being an outlet for him to “decompress.” At this point in the process, he was “still learning” that he “needed to decompress from a character.”
“It kind of stuck with me for a bit. And, you know, went to therapy and talked about it. Found a way to kind of just decompress, I think at that point still learning that I needed to decompress from a character.”
Therapy proved to be extremely beneficial for Jordan, who underwent a journey of “self-discovery” and ended up feeling “very proud” of himself; he feels like he’s a much better communicator and a “well-rounded person, inside and out.” Now the actor wants to spread his pro-therapy message far and wide, especially to men.
“And then I think that spiraled into a bigger conversation and self-discovery of, like, ‘Okay, you know, I think that’s something that’s necessary for people, you know?’ Especially men. I think it’s good for them to go and talk. That’s something I’m not ashamed of at all, and very proud of. And definitely helped me trying to be a good communicator and a well-rounded person, inside and out.”
After he first joined the cast of Black Panther, Jordan admitted that he had wanted to play a villain in a movie for a long time, and the MCU film seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand his acting skills.
Black Panther found massive success in theaters, grossing over $1 billion at the box office, and earned a near-perfect score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
When awards season came around, the MCU film received numerous nominations and wins. At the Oscars, Black Panther won Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design; its Best Picture nomination was celebrated because superhero movies rarely get singled out on that high a pedestal.
Jordan himself earned several awards as well, including Outstanding Supporting Actor at the Black Reel Awards, Best Villain at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was filmed after the death of Boseman, featured an appearance by Jordan when Shuri encountered Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane.
As he continued his self-improvement journey, Jordan went on to star in other movies like Creed II and Sinners, the latter of which has earned him rave reviews and nominations at the Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes. The Ryan Coogler-directed film was a massive hit in 2025, grossing $368 million.
Jordan has now rid himself of Killmonger through therapy and is on his way to landing his very first Oscar nomination for Sinners. After that, Coogler will be returning to the MCU by directing Black Panther 3.
Even though Killmonger is dead, it’s possible Jordan could reprise the role in the Black Panther threequel, either through another Ancestral Plane scene or even as a multiverse variant.
- Release Date
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February 16, 2018
- Runtime
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135 minutes
- Director
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Ryan Coogler