One fleeting glimpse into the We Got This Covered archives will tell you that there was much back and forth before Creed director Ryan Coogler signed along the dotted line to helm Marvel’s Black Panther, and now that his place at the helm is official, Coogler himself has spoken out about his own excitement to tackle the origins of T’Challa.
By the time the filmmaker gets to grips with the character in 2018, the Chadwick Boseman hero will have made his cameo bow in this year’s Captain America: Civil War, so it’ll be fascinating to see how Coogler approaches a character that won’t necessarily need a formal introduction.
We’re still a ways away from seeing Boseman light up the screen in his own solo movie, but that hasn’t prevented Coogler from getting caught up in the excitement. In an interview with HeyUGuys, the director revealed that the Phase Three movie is fast becoming a passion project.
“I’m excited. I grew very into pop culture, very into comic books, so it’s something that is just as personal to me as the last couple of films I was able to make. I feel really fortunate to be able to work on something I’m this passionate about again.”
Such a commitment to Black Panther will in all likelihood scupper plans for the director to take the reins of Creed 2, the nascent boxing sequel that is currently eyeing a November 2017 release window. That’s an accelerated production that would undoubtedly overlap with Marvel’s superhero feature, putting MGM on high alert for a replacement.
As for the MCU, Chadwick Boseman will make his first appearance as Black Panther in Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: Civil War – but that’s just the appetizer. For T’Challa will take center stage in his own origins tale on February 16, 2018.
