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Who directed Black Panther? Meet Ryan Coogler

By Zoe West

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Ryan Coogler attends the European Premiere of 'Black Panther' at Eventim Apollo on February 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Ryan Coogler attends the European Premiere of 'Black Panther' at Eventim Apollo on February 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage) /
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The man behind the camera for Black Panther is a relatively fresh face in Hollywood circles. But his past projects have been widely praised, and he is not exactly new to the stage.

The list of feature films directed by Ryan Coogler will reach a mammoth three with the release of Black Panther. Coogler was born in 1986, and began directing impactful short films early. During his college years, he directed four short films, three of which were nominated for various awards (and two of which won).

His first feature film, Fruitvale Station, premiered at Sundance in 2013, where it won the award for best drama. It was also screened at Cannes and won the equivalent award there. Following the festival circuit Fruitvale Station received a theatrical run, and was widely praised. The list of awards the show was nominated for (and won) is too long to go through. Some highlights include Best Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review, and a Rising Star Award from the Black Film Critics Circle.

Following the success of Fruitvale Station, MGM tapped Coogler to direct a Rocky spinoff, Creed. Coogler also co-wrote that movie, which was released in November of 2015. Creed won Coogler several more directorial awards, and its actors received some as well. The African American Film Critics Society especially loved the film, awarding Coogler best director, and the film’s stars, Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson, received Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards respectively. The National Board of Review named Creed one of its Top 10 Films of the Year. Sylvester Stallone was nominated for the best supporting actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe (among others) for his portrayal of an ailing Rocky.

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Coogler took on a similar role as both the director and co-writer for Black Panther after signing on to the film in early 2016. That means when the film is released later this week (Feb. 16, to be precise) it will represent more than two years of work for Coogler. Black Panther is definitely a larger scale and more mainstream film than what Coogler has been known for to date. However, if his past work (and early reviews) is anything to go by, the audience will not be disappointed.