CREED Director Ryan Coogler in Talks To Direct Marvel's BLACK PANTHER

We'd heard whispers of this before, but now Birth.Movies.Death is confirming it: Creed director Ryan Coogler is actually in talks to direct Marvel's Black Panther solo film.

If you've seen Creed, you know this is terrific news. Coogler is a young filmmaker, but he's the real deal, transitioning from the gut-wrenching and acclaimed indie drama Fruitvale Station to the crowd-pleasing mid-budget spin-off Creed without missing a beat. He's exactly the kind of director Marvel likes to go after — someone who isn't a huge name, but has some proven success under their belts. At one point, F. Gary Gray was rumored for this job, and I think Coogler is a much better choice. Here's hoping the deal pans out and we hear an official confirmation in the coming days. I'm not sure what taking this movie would mean for a future Creed sequel, but hopefully Coogler remains involved and they can wait a couple of years for him to knock out a superhero movie before he returns to the ring.

Chadwick Boseman, who will first make his debut as the King of Wakanda in Captain America: Civil War, stars in Black Panther, which already has a February 16th, 2018 release date.