Marvel said to be eyeing Ryan Coogler to direct Black Panther

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It appears Marvel Studios wants to bet on a black director to bring to life their iconic Black Panther superhero. Months after Selma director Ava Duvernay passed on the project, Marvel is now rumored to be eyeing Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler to helm the film, according to Heroic Hollywood.

Black Panther will be Marvel’s first film featuring a black superhero as the title character. The film studio seems to understand the historical significance of the character. The Black Panther was perhaps the first black mainstream comic book superhero when he was created in 1966. His alter-ego is an African king named T’Challa who rules the fictitious nation of Wakaanda, which is also supposed to be one of the world’s most technologically advanced in the Marvel Universe.

The film studio’s comic book publishing counterpart also seems to want to provide real authenticity to the character’s portrayal in its pages. Last month, it was announced that the African-American social commentator and critically acclaimed author of Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates will be writing a new Black Panther comic book series.

The 29-year-old Coogler has just finished directing the Rocky spin-off movie Creed, featuring Michael B. Jordan, which is set to hit theaters this November. Marvel was also said to have offered Straight Outta Compton’s F. Gary Gray the director’s chair but that he opted to take on the next Fast and Furious sequel instead.

Black Panther the movie is set to be released in 2018 and will feature Chadwick Boseman as the lead actor. However, the character will be prominently featured in next year’s Captain America: Civil War film.