It was reported last month that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler would be reteaming with frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan for a secret movie. Anticipation was high, with several major studios eager to snap up the project, but Deadline has reported that Warner Bros. has walked away as the victor following a heated bidding war.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the project has been described as a period thriller involving vampires, which certainly sounds exciting. It’s also said to contain a few anime influences, which isn’t a surprise as Michael B. Jordan is known to be a big anime fan. Ryan Coogler will direct the vampire movie in addition to penning the script, and will also produce through his Proximity Media banner. Coogler has worked with Jordan on each of his movies, including Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The project is said to have a budget somewhere in the range of $90 million. Sources have said that the movie is being fast-tracked and could start shooting as early as April in New Orleans. In addition to Warner Bros., Universal and Sony were both involved in the bidding, but it wound up coming down between Warners and Universal. Sony may have dropped out after they successfully acquired Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later project.
In addition to this vampire movie, Ryan Coogler is also still developing a reboot of The X-Files. Original creator Chris Carter spilled the beans nearly a year ago, saying, “I just spoke to a young man, Ryan Coogler, who is going to remount The X-Files with a diverse cast. So he’s got his work cut out for him, because we covered so much territory.” Nothing much had been heard about the project, but it was confirmed two months ago that it was still moving forward. Coogler is also developing several Black Panther projects for Marvel Studios, including a live-action Wakanda series and an animated series titled Eyes of Wakanda.