Ryan Coogler, director of the highly-anticipatedBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, has unfortunately been the target of racism during his time filming the blockbuster sequel. The director was let go hours later and went on to release a statement.
Black Panther 2is an upcoming sequel that will follow where the first film left off, while also making sure to stay canon with everything that Marvel Studios has been doing lately. It’s set to honor the late lead actor Chadwick Boseman while exploring more of Wakanda andpotentially introducing Namor, who is Marvel’s aquatic superhero mutant. The film has been going through a lot of setbacks, but fortunately it presses on. On set injuries, state laws, and medical concerns have been placed in front of this film despite its continuing perseverance. Unfortunately, even if one is an acclaimed director, social activist, and employee of Disney, they can still easily be a target of racism.
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Coogler is currentlyfilmingBlack Panther 2in Georgiaand took a quick stop to the bank on January 7 in order to make a withdrawal. He needed the money for personal assistance, and due to how much he was requesting ($12,000 cash), he felt uncomfortable asking for it out loud. The body camera footage showed the director saying he’s tired of feeling scared when he goes to the bank, so he wrote a note to the teller requesting the withdrawal from his account while providing identification and his banking card. The teller didn’t even give the director the chance and skipped the process of verifying his identity only to call the police. Cops came in guns drawn and put the director in handcuffs. It goes without saying, but the director wasn’t armed nor dangerous, yet he still could’ve potentially lost his life just for going to the bank.
Words can’t describe the amount of disappointment that the director and all of his supporters feel after hearing how he was treated. The director and Bank of America both released their own statements. Coogler went on to say, “This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction, and we have moved on.” It’s so unfortunate that when faced with situations like this, people are forced to accept that just coming out of it alive is the best case scenario.
Having to be scared every time you leave the house is not a fair feeling nor is it acceptable, but it is the reality many are faced with.After losing Bosemanand having the weight of theBlack Panther’s success on his shoulders, one can imagine how much the director is dealing with. This incident on top of everything else is not helpful. Hopefully the film’s journey is much easier moving forward and the director is able to have a much smoother process of putting this all together.
Make sure to support everybody involved by supportingBlack Panther 2when it ends up coming out. It’s unfortunate thatBoseman will no longer be a part of the film, but his legacy will forever live on in the work that he’s done as well as the character he brought to many people’s houses.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris scheduled to be released in theaters on July 19, 2025.
