<P> By May 2015, Marvel had discussions with Ava DuVernay to direct this film or Captain Marvel . In June, Feige confirmed that he had met with DuVernay alongside a number of other directors, and said that he expected a decision to be made by mid - to late 2015 . By early July, DuVernay had passed on directing the film, explaining that "Marvel has a certain way of doing things and I think they're fantastic and a lot of people love what they do . I loved that they reached out to me...(but) we had different ideas about what the story would be...we just didn't see eye to eye . Better for me to realize that now than cite creative differences later ." Later in the month, DuVernay expanded, </P> <P> It was a process of trying to figure out, are these people I want to go to bed with? Because it's really a marriage, and for this it would be three years . It'd be three years of not doing other things that are important to me . So it was a question of, is this important enough for me to do? At one point, the answer was yes because I thought there was value in putting that kind of imagery into the culture in a worldwide, huge way...a black man as a hero--that would be pretty revolutionary . These Marvel films go everywhere from Shanghai to Uganda, and nothing that I probably will make will reach that many people, so I found value in that...(but) it's important to me that (my work) be true to who I was in this moment . And if there's too much compromise, it really wasn't going to be an Ava DuVernay film . </P> <P> By October 2015, F. Gary Gray and Ryan Coogler had been considered to direct the film, though negotiations with Coogler had cooled, and Gray had chosen to direct Fast & Furious 8 instead . Joe Robert Cole, a member of the Marvel writers program, was in talks to write the screenplay, and Marvel changed the release date once again, moving it to February 16, 2018 . By December, discussions with Coogler were reignited after the successful opening of his film Creed . Feige described Black Panther as "a big geopolitical action adventure that focuses on the family and royal struggle of T'Challa in Wakanda, and what it means to be a king", while calling the film "a very important" link to Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel . He added that the film would be the first Marvel Studios production to feature a "primarily African - American cast". </P> <P>--Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther </P>

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