Marvel is ready to make a little progress on BLACK PANTHER as they embark on building Phase Three of their Cinematic Universe. With all of the attention on CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR right now, and then DOCTOR STRANGE, Marvel can operate carefully as they put the right pieces in place for properties like CAPTAIN MARVEL and BLACK PANTHER.
Today, they made a little dent in the development of BLACK PANTHER, moving forward with securing a writer to pen the script for Chadwick Boseman‘s entry into the MCU as T’Challa. Joe Robert Cole has been tapped to get cracking on the screenplay, emerging as a product of Marvel’s in-house writing program to land the gig. Cole has also served as a writer for FX’s AMERICAN CRIME STORY and the alien invasion flick REVOC over at Lionsgate, but it’s safe to say you aren’t too familiar with his work.
According to The Wrap, the plan is to have a script in place first before chasing after a filmmaker to execute it, which seems to fly in the face of Marvel’s recent behavior of landing the right director and having them help craft the project while already in the driver’s seat. Then again, when you’ve already been spurned by Ava DuVernay for BLACK PANTHER, getting your ducks in a row before going on the search again might not be such a bad idea.
F. Gary Gray‘s name has recently surfaced as a potential candidate that Marvel would like to do business with, but as he gets closer to landing the FURIOUS 8 job for himself, it appears Marvel will have to look elsewhere unless something falls apart.
BLACK PANTHER will be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on July 6, 2018.