There’s a very good reason why Ryan Coogler pushed back making Black Panther 3 in favor of his Sinners, his vampire horror film. The sentiment coming out of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was that the world was ready to see Shuri’s story continue as the new Black Panther, preferably in a third film. There’s also the important nugget that the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced T’Challa’s son, ensuring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy will continue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. News regarding Black Panther 3 has picked up ever since Denzel Washington shared his interest in joining the project, and now Coogler is revealing why he waited to make the Marvel flick.
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Director Ryan Coogler told Deadline that the reason he delayed Black Panther 3 is so he could make a movie that was in service of the stories that touched him personally, instead of being in service of others’ stories. All of his previous works — Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — were either already a part of established universes, or were a real story that happened. For example, Creed was a spinoff of the Rocky franchise, and the two Black Panther movies are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As for Fruitvale Station, it was a real story that happened. That’s not the case with Sinners, since it’s an original story Coogler created that takes inspiration from his family members and their history in Mississippi.
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“It is interesting for you to ask where [Sinners] came from, and timing it before Black Panther 3,” Coogler said. “It was my realization that I had been on this path of what I could make and what I wanted to make. And realizing they had all been in the service of stories that were outside of myself.” Coogler then elaborated further on the point he was making:
“But I still haven’t brought something that was just me. And how funny is it that when I say, Hey, I’m making a horror movie, and people are surprised. But if you know me, I love those movies. If I had to reckon with the fact that the audience doesn’t truly know me. And I got scared that I would look up and be 50 and would still be in that situation. And by then, I might not have anything to say. So the movie was made because I had to make it right now. And with the people that I wanted to make it with, it had to happen now. Or if not, it wouldn’t. I feared that. And that was why now.”
Nate Moore, a producer on the Black Panther movies and other MCU projects, previously spoke about how Sinners was delaying Black Panther 3. “We’ve had early talks with Coogler. He’s finishing up Sinners, which is going to be an amazing film, and then we’ll get into it after that,” Moore said. “It won’t be before Avengers. That’s our next big thing. Obviously, this year we have Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four all on the road to Avengers but we’ll get back to Wakanda as soon as we can.”
On the topic of Denzel Washington joining the Black Panther 3 cast, Coogler stated that as long as the Oscar winner is interested in joining the film, there will be a spot for him. Nothing is locked in, but Coogler wants to make it happen.
“I’ve been dying to work with Denzel and I’m hoping we can make that happen,” Coogler said about Washington’s potential role. “I got every intention of working with him in that movie. As long as he’s interested, it’s gonna happen. He’s a living legend and a great mentor for so many of us.”
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