The Walt Disney Company has expanded its partnership with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, by signing a five-year television deal with his Proximity Media.
Coogler, who is currently working on the Black Panther sequel, will now develop new TV series for the studio. The first offering is an original spin-off drama series based on Kingdom of Wakanda titled, Wakanda Forever, for Disney+. The deal also enables Proximity to develop television for other divisions of the company.
Commenting on this deal, The Walt Disney Company executive chairman Bob Iger stated, “Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation. With Black Panther, he brought a groundbreaking story and iconic characters to life in a real, meaningful and memorable way, creating a watershed cultural moment. We’re thrilled to strengthen our relationship and look forward to telling more great stories with Ryan and his team.”
Also known for acclaimed films like Creed and Fruitvale Station, Coogler delivered a blockbuster with Black Panther, that grossed a whopping $1.3 billion worldwide and also went on to become the first MCU film to win multiple Oscars. He founded Proximity Studios with Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis and Peter Nicks with a mission to create event-driven feature films, television, soundtracks and podcasts based on stories involving often-overlooked subject matter.
Speaking about the extension of partnership with Disney, Coogler told Deadline, “It’s an honour to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company. Working with them on Black Panther was a dream come true. As avid consumers of television, we couldn’t be happier to be launching our television business with Bob Iger, Dana Walden and all the amazing studios under the Disney umbrella. We look forward to learning, growing, and building a relationship with audiences all over the world through the Disney platforms. We are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+. We’re already in the mix on some projects that we can’t wait to share.”
