‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Signs 5-Year TV Deal With Disney; Wakanda Series in The Works

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is sticking with Disney, as The Walt Disney Company has signed his production banner Proximity Media, which he runs with principals Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis, and Peter Nicks, to a 5-year deal.

Coogler is currently working on Black Panther 2, which he wrote and will return to direct. He will also be developing new live-action series for Disney+, the first one being a drama based in the Kingdom of Wakanda for Disney+, according to Deadline. The deal also enables Proximity to develop television for other divisions of the Company.

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Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company released a statement on the deal.

“Ryan Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation. 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.”

Coogler also released a statement and shared his excitement on this new venture.

“It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company. Working with them on Black Panther was a dream come true. As avid consumers of television, we couldn’t be happier to be launching our television business with Bob Iger, Dana Walden and all the amazing studios under the Disney umbrella. We look forward to learning, growing, and building a relationship with audiences all over the world through the Disney platforms. We are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+. We’re already in the mix on some projects that we can’t wait to share,” stated Ryan Coogler on behalf of Proximity Media.”

Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett are expected to return, Wright expected to take on an expanded role in the franchise moving forward. Narcos: Mexico star Tenoch Huerta is set to play an unknown villain in the upcoming sequel.

the sequel is expected to start production in Atlanta, where most of Marvel’s projects shoot, in July and last upwards of six months.

Released in 2018, the first Black Panther was a critical and financial hit grossing $700 million domestically and over $1.3 billion globally overall. The film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture (which it ultimately lost to Green Book). The film did take home awards for Best Original Score, Costume Design, Production Design.

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