LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 09: Director Ryan Coogler attends the ‘Black Panther’ BFI preview screening on February 9, 2018 at BFI Southbank in London, England.
Jeff Spicer | Getty Images
Disney is adding one more TV show to its already stacked line of Marvel content in development for Disney +.
On Monday, the company announced that it had signed a five-year deal with “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Proximity Media to make television shows exclusively for Disney.
As part of that deal, Coogler will create a series set in Wakanda, the fictional African country where Black Panther lives. There are now nearly a dozen Marvel shows in the works for the streaming service.
The deal also allowed Coogler’s company to develop television programming for other divisions within Disney.
“Ryan Coogler is a remarkable storyteller whose vision and reach have made him one of the most outstanding filmmakers of his generation,” said Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company.
Coogler’s “Black Panther” not only excelled at the worldwide box office, with sales of $ 1.3 billion worldwide, it was also the first superhero film to ever receive a Best Picture nomination.
The director, known for “Fruitvale Station” and “Creed”, was due to start shooting a sequel to “Black Panther” in March, but filming was sidelined following the sudden and unexpected death of star Chadwick Boseman. Boseman, 43, had been battling colon cancer for four years but had kept his diagnosis from the public.
The sequel is now scheduled to shoot in Atlanta in July with Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett, who are all expected to reprise their roles.