Fresh off of punching some life into the aging Rocky franchise with his boxing drama Creed, director Ryan Coogler is apparently in talks to helm Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther film. According to Variety, this is actually the second time Coogler has been approached about taking the reins of the Chadwick Boseman-starring superhero flick; Marvel apparently tried to lure him onto the project during post-production on Creed, but he initially declined the job.
That appears to have changed, though, potentially freeing the studio from its ongoing quest—which also included speculation about tapping Selma director Ava DuVernay and Straight Outta Compton’s F. Gary Gray to take the job—to not get yelled at for hiring a white guy to direct Black Panther. Instead of that public relations debacle, though, they’ll now have Hollywood’s latest hit-maker on their side; Coogler’s Creed is already generating Oscar buzz after a healthy Thanksgiving weekend opening.
As prophecized on Marvel Studios’ Great Big Calender Of Future Movie Releases, Black Panther is expected to open on July 6, 2018; audiences got their first look at Boseman’s take on the crime-busting Wakandan prince T’Challa during the recent trailer for Captain America: Civil War.