Confirmed: Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ Finds Its Director in Creed’s Ryan Coogler

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Ryan Coogler to Direct Marvel's 'Black Panther' (2018)

Ryan Coogler to Direct Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ (2018)

Award-winning Fruitvale Station and Creed writer/director Ryan Coogler has officially signed on to direct Marvel ‘s 2018 live-action film, Black Panther , starring Get On Up ‘s Chadwick Boseman .

This is big news for eager fans who were disappointed that the entertainment company and Selma director Ava DuVernay could not settle creative differences in talks last year.

ALSO SEE: TIME & WIRED Covers Featuring Marvel’s Black Panther Aren’t Real… But They Should Be!

Black Panther aka T’Challa, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby , is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics.

The king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, he made his first appearance in the Marvel Universe in Fantastic Four #52 in July 1966, and traveled to New York City to join The Avengers in 1968.

'Black Panther' Concept Art by Ryan Meinerding

‘Black Panther’ Concept Art by Ryan Meinerding

“This one is important,” Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in Empire Magazine. “Not only do you get an unbelievable lead character, but you also get all of Wakanda, which is a whole new setting and culture to explore.”

Although he first left the comic pages in a 2011 animated series titled Marvel Knights: Black Panther , voiced by Djimon Honsou ( Guardians of the Galaxy ), our first look at a live-action Black Panther will be in Captain America: Civil War , out May 6, 2016.

Black Panther’s solo film has been set for several release dates, first November 3, 2017 , then July 6, 2018 , and now up to February 16, 2018.

Adapted for screenplay by Joe Robert Cole , Black Panther will chronicle T’Challa’s forced rise from prince to king after his father is treacherously killed.

29-year-old Coogler, an Oakland native, solidified his rising star status in 2013 with Fruitvale Station , starring Michael B. Jordan .

Coogler and Jordan reunited for their latest blockbuster hit (and must-see if you haven’t), Creed , which has earned awards from the African-American Film Critics Association, Boston Online Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Board of Review.



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