Ryan Coogler on How ‘Black Panther’ Fights Superhero Movie Fatigue

This year marks a decade since Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008 and when Black Panther debuts next month, it will be the eighteenth film in that massive world.

Yet despite superhero movie fatigue being a real possibility given how many superhero films — and not just MCU films — there are each year, the buzz around Black Panther is electric. The movie was recently ranked Number 2 on Fandango’s list of Most Anticipated Movies of 2018, but beyond that, the film is also groundbreaking. As the first MCU film to not only focus on a black hero but also feature a predominantly black cast, story, and setting, Black Panther is set to have a huge cultural influence and for director Ryan Coogler, that’s part of what makes it exciting.

Coogler recently told Fandango, that the cultural element makes the film unique within the superhero genre.

“There have been a lot of superhero movies made,” Coogler said. “As a comic book and superhero film fan myself, I feel like we’ve seen a lot at this point. I think that the cultural element of [Black Panther] — and how cultural specificity takes such a big role in the film — that’s what makes it quite unique. I’m excited to see more [superhero movies], but there hasn’t really been a film about a character like T’Challa before.”

Coogler went on to say that, while Black Panther is unique in a lot of ways, Marvel Studios’ previous work in telling original stories also lends to the excitement, especially with the idea of representation for black culture and heroes being so important.

“Hopefully we can pull it off, but it has the potential to be something that’s really unique in a lot of different ways,” Coogler said. “I think that you can’t ignore the idea of representation and also the excitement around Marvel Studios and the work that they’ve been able to pull off when telling original and unique stories. I think that folks are excited to see what the studio is able to cook up.”

Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16, 2018.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Infinity War on May 4, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.