Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is one of the best Marvel movies, and when it came out in 2018, it was a massive moment in pop culture. Overall, the project was met with acclaim, and to this day, people proudly share their love for it. However, now, while reflecting on this massive point in his career and modern film history, the filmmaker revealed one of his “great regrets” about his time working on it.
Currently, Coogler is promoting his project on the 2025 movie schedule, Sinners. It marks another collaboration with Michael B. Jordan, and like many of their films, Sinners is getting great reviews, proving the power of Coogler’s movies. So, while discussing that and his other successful work with LeBron James for Interview Magazine, he was asked about moments where he realized his work started a “movement,” and the NBA legend asked about Black Panther specifically.
In response, the Creed director revealed he didn’t fully appreciate the moments that came with the making of his first Marvel movie and its success, explaining:
To be honest with you, Bron—and it’s one of my great regrets—I was so young while we were making it, and so stressed out, that I didn’t appreciate what was happening, man. There were a few moments where I’d be like, ‘Oh man, this shit is getting crazy.’
In a way, the filmmaker had points where he acknowledged what he was doing would be big. However, it sounds like he didn’t take it in as much as he would have liked to.
There were a few instances where he realized the enormity of what he was working on, like the creation of The Black Panther soundtrack, which is one of the most iconic Black movie soundtracks of all time. Referencing Kendrick Lamar’s work on the album, Coogler said:
For instance, Kendrick [Lamar] was supposed to do a song, so he and Dave Free came by and watched a bit of footage, and then bounced. Then a few weeks later they hit me back like, ‘Hey man, come listen to the music,’ and they had a whole damn album…. Each song had a reference to the movie. I’m like, ‘Man, this [guy] just wrote this.’ And then on set, Chadwick [Boseman] was doing incredible work every day, Mike was doing incredible work every day, but I couldn’t appreciate the moment.
While he had a few instances where he may have realized that Black Panther was bigger than the movie, it seems like the Sinners director didn’t let it sink in as much as he wanted to.
I get where he’s coming from. It had to be an overwhelming task to take on. Plus, he was only 30 when he made this film, and before it, he’d only made two major motion pictures – Fruitvale Station and Creed. While he didn’t need to feel this way, I can see why he said the following while speaking about this regret:
I was dealing with impostor syndrome.
Well, I feel that. I’m sure many of us have faced impostor syndrome. Plus, looking back at various points in my life, I also regret not fully taking them in because I was too busy being stressed out about trying to make something.
Hopefully, Ryan Coogler doesn’t feel that way anymore, and he’s able to fully take in and appreciate his films the way fans do. He makes incredible movies (like Black Panther, which you can watch with a Disney+ subscription), and he deserves to enjoy the process as much as we enjoy watching his work.
So, here’s hoping he can really live in and appreciate the moment while he works on his next projects, including his upcoming Marvel movie, Black Panther 3. In the meantime, you can go see his latest success by catching Sinners in theaters now.
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