‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Writes Tribute to ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ Director Ava DuVernay

Now that A Wrinkle in Time has premiered in theaters, fans are getting to see director Ava DuVernay‘s take on the classic young adult novel.

And though the film might be competing in the box office against Black Panther, the two directors are nothing but supportive of each other. Marvel Studios director Ryan Coogler penned a heartfelt tribute to DuVernay that was recently published on ESPNW, championing his friend’s accomplishments.

“Ava DuVernay is someone who makes the impossible look easy. It’s why I feel privileged to call her my big sister. I met her in 2013, but she’s one of those people who you feel like you’ve always known,” wrote Coogler.

He goes on to talk about her career as an admired and respected publicist in Hollywood before bursting onto the scene as a director with her award-winning film Selma.

“Ava is a pioneer. She makes the most distant dreams and ideas a reality. She made a show called Queen Sugar and mandated the use of female directors and key creatives a full two years before the great Frances McDormand shared with the world what an inclusion rider was. Ava is inclusion, equity and representation.”

Coogler has made no secret about seeking insight from his contemporaries, including help on the script for Black Panther from Donald Glover.

But he’s said DuVernay played a key role in how he shaped Black Panther, as the two were working on their films at Disney at the same time, just across the hall from each other. Coogler said that personal tragedy, such as the loss of her father, helped shape the work she did on her Netflix series 13th.

“Then she infused the love she had for her father, and her mother who is still with us, into the beautiful film A Wrinkle in Time. I watched closely from across the hall at Disney while working on Black Panther as my big sister inspired her crew with love and navigated the challenges of studio filmmaking, adapting a book that many people called unfilmable into a movie that explodes with hope, with love and with women warriors.

“But above all, it’s a film about a little black girl with glasses — like my mom, like my wife, like my big sister Ava — who refuses to accept that her dad is lost. The main character in the film, Meg, uses her love, her hope and her kickass skills as a scientist to bring him back, and maybe she saves the universe along the way.”

Check out the full letter over at ESPNW.

A Wrinkle in Time and Black Panther are now playing in theaters.