Disney has extended its partnership with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and Proximity Media. The exclusive newly signed five-year deal includes a Black Panther-inspired television series.
As part of the deal, the 34-year-old director will be working on programming made exclusively for Disney.
“Ryan Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation,” said Bob Iger, Executive Chairman, The Walt Disney Company. “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’s “Black Panther” excelled at the box office hailing a total of $1.3 billion worldwide. Along with being the highest-grossing film by a black director; Black Panther is the first superhero movie to be nominated for best picture.
Coogler expressed his excitement for the exclusive deal and continuing his partnership with Disney.
“It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company,” says Coogler. “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.”
Currently, Coogler is busy working on Black Panther 2. In the wake of the untimely death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, the film will not recast his character.
The film will hit theaters on July 8, 2022.
