By With the first Black Panther film from Marvel Studios being such a huge box office and critical hit, a sequel was only inevitable. What was less certain, however, was the film’s director and co-writer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) returning. No need to worry anymore, as THR confirmed that Coogler will return as writer-director for the Black Panther follow-up.
The deal was slow in the making until recently, with Coogler being said to begin writing the screenplay next year with a production start in either late 2019 or early 2020. A release date from Marvel Studios and Disney is unknown at the moment, but expect Disney to make a push for the first film in their Oscar campaigning, especially without a “popular film category” anymore.
Coogler’s return is exciting for me as a fan of the first film, but I was hoping that the filmmaker would move on to more intimate and personal projects now that he’s gained so much capital in Hollywood. He chose to not take on Creed II, instead having relatively unknown director Steven Caple Jr. take on the task—imagine Coogler passing the torch to another up-and-coming young black filmmaker.
Still, Coogler is also set to work on a drama film called Wrong Answer with his usual collaborator Michael B. Jordan, and he’ll be an executive producer on the new Space Jammovie, so he won’t be a Marvel guy forever. Look forward to the next Black Panther in the future, where T’Challa will rebuild himself after his last appearance broke him down.
Ryan Coogler Signs on to Write and Direct ‘Black Panther’ Sequel [THR]