Black Panther director developing Wakanda TV series for Disney+

Ryan Coogler, who wrote and directed Black Panther as well as its upcoming sequel Black Panther 2, will be taking a Disney+ TV series set in Wakanda, the highly advanced African nation where the Black Panther movies are set, as well as a large chunk of Avengers: Infinity War.

According to Variety, this is all part of a deal that Coogler and his team have signed with Disney, a deal that could result in more series down the line. “Ryan Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation,” said Disney executive chairman Bob Iger. “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.”

The new series is yet another show on Disney’s growing pile of Marvel TV series, which also includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, Armor Wars, Ironheart and the currently airing WandaVision. Yeah, it’s a lot.

What will the Wakanda show be about?

Will the Wakanda show be able to stand out? Well, the fictional nation certainly captured the world’s imagination, and there are a lot of characters from the Black Panther movies who could star, including Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman).

The one person who couldn’t appear in the series, obviously, is Chadwick Boseman (King T’Challa), as he died young last year from colon cancer. His death means that a cloud still hangs over the series, but Disney is pushing forward, perhaps by moving T’Challa’s sister Shuri into a more prominent role.

“It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company,” Coogler said in a statement. “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.”

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h/t The Wertzone