The blockbuster success of Marvel’s “Black Panther” figures to up the already in-demand status of director Ryan Coogler and his stars, many of whom continue their roles in “Avengers: Infinity War,” in theaters May 4.
The blockbuster success of Marvel’s « Black Panther » figures to up the already in-demand status of director Ryan Coogler and his stars, many of whom continue their roles in « Avengers: Infinity War, » in theaters May 4. Here, we take a look at some of their upcoming projects:
Coogler, whose trajectory, from 2013’s Independent Spirit Award-winning « Fruitvale Station » to the masterful « Rocky » reboot « Creed » in 2015 and now « Black Panther » could hardly be steeper, next reteams (for a fourth time!) with Michael B. Jordan (why fix what isn’t broken?) for the Ta-Nehisi Coates-written drama « Wrong Answer. » Based on a nonfiction New Yorker article, it tells the story of the scandal surrounding an Atlanta teacher who alters his students’ test scores to save his struggling school.
In addition to « Wrong Answer, » Jordan, who plays Erik Killmonger in « Panther, » stars as Guy Montag in Ramin Bahrani’s HBO adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s « Fahrenheit 451, » and appears in Netflix’s superhero family drama « Raising Dion, » based on the comic book by Dennis Liu and Jason Piperberg. Jordan will also reportedly play civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson in « Just Mercy, » and reprise his role as Adonis in « Creed II, » with Steven Caple Jr. (2016 indie « The Land ») directing.
« Black Panther’s » leading man, Chadwick Boseman, who rose to fame playing real-life icons Jackie Robinson (« 42 »), James Brown (« Get on Up ») and Thurgood Marshall (« Marshall »), will presumably have a long reign as King T’Challa of Wakanda, but he will be no less busy with other films. « Moonlight » director Barry Jenkins recently signed on to direct « Expatriate, » a 1970s-set hijacking thriller, which Boseman co-wrote and will star in. Another film reported to be in development is a drama co-written by Boseman about the Rev. Jeffrey Brown, a Baptist minister devoted to lowering youth crime and gang violence in Boston.
Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (« 12 Years a Slave »), who plays « Black Panther’s » Nakia, is slated to star with Josh Gad in the zombie comedy « Little Monsters » and play Trevor Noah’s mother in the adaptation of « The Daily Show » host’s memoir « Born a Crime. » Nyong’o will also produce and star opposite David Oyelowo in a miniseries based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel « Americanah, » adapted by « Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira, about the parallel lives of two Nigerian immigrants.
Nyong’o starred on Broadway in Gurira’s Tony-nominated play « Eclipsed. » There are also rumors Nyong’o will appear in a « Charlie’s Angels » reboot. Gurira, Okoye in « Black Panther, » also continues her role in TV’s « The Walking Dead. »
« Panther’s » W’Kabi, Daniel Kaluuya, broke out big time a year ago in « Get Out, » earning an Oscar nomination, and next stars in Steve McQueen’s Chicago-set heist thriller « Widows, » with Viola Davis and Liam Neeson, and lends his voice to the animated BBC/Netflix adaptation of « Watership Down. »
Letitia Wright, who has a key role in « Black Panther » as Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and Wakanda’s tech guru, has another cyber-savvy role in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming virtual reality film « Ready Player One. »
Forest Whitaker, another Academy Award winner (« The Last King of Scotland »), appears as Zuri in « Black Panther » and was a producer on « Fruitvale Station. » He has a number of films in the pipeline including « Finding Steve McQueen, » « How It Ends, » « A Fall From Grace, » « LAbyrinth » with Johnny Depp and « The Poison Rose » with John Travolta.
As for a « Black Panther » sequel, nothing has been officially announced, but how can they not do one?
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