Ryan Coogler will expand his vision for Black Panther and the World of Wakanda taking it from big screen to television screen. The Black Panther director and co-writer has signed a five-year exclusive television deal between his Proximity Media and Disney. Coogler runs Proximity Media with principals Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis, and Peter Nicks. Coogler is in the process of working on the sequel to Black Panther and is developing his first series which will spin out of the film series. The television series will be a drama based in the Kingdom of Wakanda for Disney+.
In the announcement, Coogler said:
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.
Coogler first came on the radar with Fruitvale Station which he then reunited with that film’s star Michael B Jordan on Creed. Creed, spun out of Rocky, has spun out its own franchise. Black Panther grossed over $1.3 billion globally and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Star Chadwick Boseman died last year, and Coogler and Disney are moving forward with a sequel Coogler has written that will not recast that role.
