‘Black Panther’ Script Received Input From Donald Glover

The first film on Marvel Studios‘ calendar for 2018 is less than a week away from debuting in theaters, and it’s already tracking to be another hit for the company. But director Ryan Coogler got some surprising assistance when writing the script.

Coogler recently revealed in an interview with Collider that he sent the script for Black Panther to Atlanta creator and Solo: A Star Wars Story actor Donald Glover, who provided some input with his brother Stephen.

“Donald and Stephen actually gave me notes on a draft,” said Coogler. “They came and took a day- they were really busy, they took a day and they read the draft and gave us notes.”

Coogler added that Glovers helped out right before shooting began on the production, offering some new insights for the story.

“It wasn’t that kind of a thing where it was ‘change this, change that,’” Coogler said. “We were looking at ways to highlight a few more character things with specifically Shuri where she pokes fun at her brother. Donald’s one of the funniest people that I know, so he had some interesting ideas. And Stephen’s crazy talented as well.”

Coogler appreciated their contributions enough that they received special mentions during the “Thank You” portion of the credits.

Donald Glover is best known for his acting, comedy, and music under the moniker Childish Gambino, but recently received critical praise and recognition for his work on Atlanta. The FX series was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2017 Emmy Awards and Donald won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Donald’s brother Stephen is also a leader in the writers room for the series, and Donald frequently calls his brother one of the best writers he knows. That the two of them helped Coogler work out some story beats for Shuri in Black Panther is a pleasant surprise.

While the movie has yet to premiere, early impressions have been overwhelmingly positive. Our own Brandon Davis highlighted Shuri’s role in the movie, citing her as one of the best characters in the film — so the Glovers’ contributions were obviously welcome.

Fans will get to see the movie for themselves when Black Panther finally premieres in theaters on February 16th.