Last week, it was revealed that frequent collaborators Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan – who have worked on Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever together as director and cast member, and have other collaborations that Coogler didn’t direct – have been developing a new project in secret. Coogler has written the script for this project, which is being described as a genre picture that Coogler will be directing and Jordan is attached to star in. They were just looking for a studio the project could call home – and now Deadline reports that the number of contenders is down to three: Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal. They also report that this movie is expected to have a budget of $90 million… and buried down at the bottom of their article is the tag, “Vampire Movie”. So are Coogler and Jordan looking to make a 90 million dollar vampire movie here?
We don’t know for sure just yet, but Deadline hears that “the script is a period genre film that is a true star vehicle for Jordan”. They go on to say, The numbers being thrown around for worldwide rights are large, but not out of line given the commercial track record of both men. There has also been discussion of potential co-ownership of the IP. As well as potential “put” pictures for Coogler and his Proximity Media. Landing Coogler post-Black Panther as a cornerstone filmmaker would be extremely valuable to any of these studios; he has done nothing but hatch hits and critically acclaimed pictures since he broke in to the business with Fruitvale Station. There is so much secrecy surrounding this genre project, it was previously reported that “executives and buyers were forced to make the pilgrimage to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, in order to take a gander on the script and get details.”
Deadline also notes that the bidding war over this project is coming down to three traditional studios instead of streamers because the filmmakers “are insistent upon a full blown global theatrical play.” Wherever it ends up, Coogler is hoping to start filming this summer.
Coogler (who is also developing a reboot of the TV series The X-Files) will be producing the film with Proximity Media partners Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. Rebecca Cho serves as executive producer.
Would you like to see a $90 million vampire movie that’s written and directed by Coogler, with Jordan in the lead role? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.