BLACK PANTHER Director Ryan Coogler Says The Film Will Be His "Most Personal Movie To Date"
It's true that Kevin Feige has a huge amount of control over the movies that comprise the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even to the point where it's fair to call Marvel Studios' method of filmmaking a "producer-driven" model. But while the movies may share a visual vocabulary and cross over with each other, I think there's a large misconception among some fans that these films are almost connect-the-dots movies that don't allow individual filmmakers to put their stamp on them. There are three perfect examples that prove my point: The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Iron Man 3 all fit into the confines of the producer-driven Marvel movie, but they're also very much showcases of the personalities and types of films made by directors Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and Shane Black. Those movies couldn't have been directed by just anyone — you can watch it and tell that they come from those specific filmmakers.
Thankfully, it sounds like the upcoming Black Panther solo film will be the same way. In a new interview with Fast Company (via /Film), writer/director Ryan Coogler said the movie is going to be his "most personal movie to date."
It’s a specific challenge. What Marvel’s doing, and what you see a lot of studios doing now that Marvel has done it so successfully, is making content that exists in a particular universe, where the characters tie in and crossover, and I think that’s a great creative challenge to me—to make this movie as personal as possible. It’s going to be my most personal movie to date, which is crazy to say, but it’s completely the case. I’m obsessed with this character and this story right now, and I think it’s going to be very unique and still fit into the overall narrative that they’re establishing. I grew up as a comic book fan, and the same things used to happen in the comic books. You’d have Wolverine’s books, and they’d be so much darker and more brutal than the X-Men books, but they’d still fit in when you open the pages of the X-Men book. It’s new to movies, but it’s not new to storytelling.
That's great to hear, and it's exciting that Coogler is approaching this movie with the desire to make it as personal as possible. For him to look at this as his most personal movie — even more than Creed or Fruitvale Station — says a lot about how he's looking to bring this story to life.
Black Panther will star Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michael B. Jordan, and it arrives in theaters on February 2, 2018.