Director Ryan Coogler Explains How Marvel's BLACK PANTHER Comic is Influencing His Movie

I'm excited about Marvel Studios' Black Panther for a myriad of reasons, but if I had to choose a single one that exemplifies my excitement, it's the staggering amount of pure talent the company has recruited to be a part of this movie. Creed and Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler is co-writing and directing, Chadwick Boseman is reprising his role as the title hero, and there's an amazing supporting cast that includes people like Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira. Pretty freaking awesome. After the events of Civil War, I'm really looking forward to seeing how Panther operates on his home turf.

Coogler is the man in charge on this film, and since fans always like to hear about how filmmakers respect the source material, I figured I'd share some quotes from a new interview he did with Vulture in which he talks about how Ta-Nehisi Coates' great new Black Panther comic is influencing his movie:

"...what he’s doing with Panther is just incredible. You can really see his background as a poet in some of the dialogue. And what Brian Stelfreeze is doing with the visuals in that book. And some of the questions that it’s asking. It’s just inspiring for [co-screenwriter] Joe Robert Cole and myself."

“So, it’s influenced the way you think about the character?” I asked.

“Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied. “What’s so great about Panther is he’s a superhero who, if you grab him and ask him if he’s a superhero, he’ll tell you, ‘No.’ He sees himself as a politician, as a leader in his country. It just so happens that the country is a warrior-based nation where the leaders have to be warriors, as well, so sometimes he has to go fight. I think starting at that is really so interesting. If you look at that, anything that’s happening in the world right now, or in the world in the past, in the political realm and how people deal with each other, it can be an inspiration.”

It sounds like this movie is going to be the most political Marvel Studios film by far, and that's saying something considering a lot of the movies have been about the relationship between a hero (or heroes) and government organizations, and that a few of the characters have actually testified in Senate hearings on screen already. But Wakandan politics are a whole different story, and I can't wait to see how Coogler dives into that world behind the camera.

To watch the entire Black Panther panel from San Diego Comic-Con, click here.