Ryan Coogler believes ‘Black Panther’ can provide African Americans kids with a new group of positive role models.
The 31-year-old filmmaker helmed the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film and the project became his most "personal film" because it was his chance to tell a fictional story about the continent which gave birth his ancestors without it being about the slave trade to the US.
In an interview with Variety, Coogler said: "For me this opportunity was unique because I could make something I truly hadn’t seen before. As an African American, our history with the continent is very fraught. We’re not generally able to tie our lineage back as a result of a very specific traumatic experience that happened to us.
"So how we learn about the continent is skewed through that lens, through that relationship, and how we learn about ourselves is skewed. There was a gap in my own identity. So in many ways this is my most personal film."
The motion picture expands on the storyline that was first introduced in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ of how T’Challa – played by Chadwick Boseman – becomes the Black Panther hero.
Coogler recently admitted he was "excited" to collaborate with Marvel Studios because they allowed him to bring his "own personal tastes and perspectives to the story".
The ‘Creed’ director said: "It’s been interesting. Filmmaking is a collaborative medium but, in this case, I was excited to collaborate with the studio once I got to know them. What Marvel was interested in was me bringing my own personal tastes and perspectives to the story; they were very encouraging of me to make the film my own. With all collaborations come challenges from both sides, that’s how relationships work, but it’s been a very rewarding process for me so far."
Ryan Coogler couldn’t pass on helming Black Panther
