A shiny new (well, extended, at least) deal with Disney is going to keep Ryan Coogler busy for a while. According to Variety, the company and the Black Panther director have struck a new multi-year TV deal, allowing Coogler and his Proximity Media label to develop multiple TV projects for studios under the Disney umbrella—including Marvel. In fact, one of Coogler’s new projects is a potential Disney+ series set in Wakanda, the fictional country where Black Panther is set.
“Ryan Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation,” said Disney chairman Bob Iger. “With Black Panther, Ryan brought a groundbreaking story and iconic characters to life in a real, meaningful, and memorable way, creating a watershed cultural moment. We’re thrilled to strengthen our relationship and look forward to telling more great stories with Ryan and his team.”
The Wakanda show hasn’t been picked up as a full series yet, and Marvel naturally hasn’t said anything about it, but it sounds like an extension of what the studio has said about Black Panther 2. A producer already confirmed that there won’t be any Carrie Fisher-style digital recreation of Chadwick Boseman in the sequel, which will reportedly be more about the world of Wakanda than some other character stepping in and replacing Boseman after his death last summer.
This new series could be a continuation of ideas introduced in Black Panther 2, or it could be more of a closer focus on the street-level Wakanda stories that didn’t get a spotlight alongside the royal drama and shirtless waterfall battles of Coogler’s first Black Panther. Either way, Disney is planning to stay in the Ryan Coogler business for a while.
27 Comments
WakandaVision
Pls no token white guy in this. Much as I love Martin Freeman, his presence in Black Panther was entirely superfluous.
That’s Tolkein white guy.
That Tolkein’s white, guy.
LOL Well done
Serkis too 😀
To be fair, the character he was playing was a supporting character in Christopher Priest’s run on Black Panther.
He was, but I don’t think the movie version used him in the right way to make his character work like it did in the comic. In that comic, which was very much a reboot of Black Panther to make him an A-level superhero after decades of being a supporting character, Ross was the audience surrogate who didn’t know much about T’Challa and underrated him. Ross’s own clumsiness, snark, and growing awe at the Panther and his world is what made him work.The MCU version is a competent arrogant government operative who’s doubts about Wakanda aren’t quite played the same way. If the film had been restructured so that he was again the audience surrogate, it might’ve worked, but by the time he joins the story the audience is already predisposed to respect T’Challa/Wakanda because of his phenomenal Civil War debut and the first quarter of the film.
If the film had been restructured so that he was again the audience surrogate, it might’ve workedI get your meaning, but coming from that direction gets dangerously close to making some milquetoast white dude the main character of a Black Panther movie.
For sure. I should’ve mentioned that the film didn’t need the restructuring just to justify the character. I think they should’ve realized he wasn’t necessary and left him out.
His character was necessary because he provided much-needed intel on exactly who and what the Wakandans were dealing with in Killmonger.
I think that one line of dialogue could’ve been given to someone else if absolutely necessary. A random Wakanda intelligence officer would’ve sufficed.
No token/Tolkien white guy, you say? Miranda Otto it is, then!
Ross was a big part of the Priest run Coogler was taking inspiration from. In the same way as the film he was how the outside governments found out how powerful Wakanda was.
He was superfluous alright. I don’t even remember him in the movie.
Seems like the best route without Boseman and the antivaxxer. Maybe they could lead the series toward a new Black Panther being chosen in the finale?
Wright is more than just anti-vaxxer. She’s apparently an anti-LGBTQ evangelical, based on the wacky people and books she’s liked or retweeted before she deleted everything.
I would have recast them both and just moved on. She’s obviously a nut case. As great in the role as he was, he was great, I just think T’Challa as an icon deserved to live on after a respectful amount of time had passed.
Oh no, I did not know this about Wright. That is disappointing.
War Dogs. Gimme all that spy shit.
They could always introduce Kasper Cole, the White Tiger.
I’d be down for a completely different take on Wakanda – like a workplace comedy about some dudes crackin’ jokes and loafin’ around the vibranium mines, or a show about science nerds in the science labs.
The pitch I saw years ago was about the poor bastards running the tourism board for the fake version of Wakanda when they were still hidden.
I’m down for those science nerds if they explain how a material that absorbs all vibrations makes noise when struck.
Make it about Ramonda (Angela Bassett), of course.
As long as Marvel’s poaching past DC superstars, get Carl “Martian Manhunter” Lumbly in there. Get a nice little “Alias” reunion happening.
How long Wakanda? Wakanda forever.