Black Panther’s Director Is Down to Make a Movie About the Women of Wakanda

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler just cosigned the movie of our dreams: At a panel during the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, he was asked if he’d be open to making a spin-off featuring the women of Wakanda. He was instantly into the idea—and made our hearts soar.

“Oh man,” Variety reports Coogler saying. “That would be amazing if the opportunity came up. They did it in the comic-book version.”

Someone please make this opportunity happen right now. As it’s been widely reported, Black Panther is the highest-grossing superhero film of all time, after it made more than $1.2 billion globally. A woman-centered spin-off would undoubtedly continue to crush records. Plus, it would give us another opportunity to root for the movie’s out-of-this-world female stars, who include Oscar winner and real-life saint Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Letitia Wright.

“We have these actresses who could easily carry their own movie,” Coogler said at the panel. “Some of them have before!”

Wright, who plays Shuri, the badass and brilliant younger sister of King T’Challa, signaled she was all about the idea by adorably tweeting, “Ready big bro.”

https://twitter.com/letitiawright/status/994660175733776385

The question of a spin-off came up at the panel when moderator Elvis Mitchell asked Coogler whether the women of Black Panther were as important as the men. In addition to Shuri, the film features incredible female characters, like Nakia and Okoye. Coogler answered, “I think that you could argue that they’re more important in Wakanda. There’s a whole section of the film where T’Challa is out of the movie and you’re just following the women, and that’s one of my favorite parts of the movie. I didn’t expect that!”

A sequel does seem to be in the works, although we’re not sure which characters it would highlight. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said an interview with Entertainment Weekly that although he had “nothing specific to reveal,” another journey into Wakanda would come. We’re just crossing our fingers it focuses on Shuri and the rest of the power women—we’d be first in line for tickets.

Related Stories:
-‘Black Panther’ Is Officially the Highest-Grossing Superhero Movie of All Time in the U.S.
-Lupita Nyong’o Paid for 600 Kids to See ‘Black Panther’ Because She’s the Absolute Best
-Lupita Nyong’o Celebrated the Box Office Win for ‘Black Panther’ With a Tribute to Chadwick Boseman