Now that we’ve had our first taste of Black Panther in the Captain America: Civil War trailer, Marvel is finally getting down to brass tacks about landing a director for the Black Panther solo film. The movie won’t hit theatres until 2018, but it’s the only one of Marvel’s next eight releases that still doesn’t have a helmer attached. We heard earlier this year that they were courting Selma director Ava DuVernay to direct, but she ultimately passed on the project, stating that there would be too much compromise and that they had different ideas on where to take the story. Now this week Marvel has reportedly set their sights on another African-American director with a recent hit under his belt. Hit the jump for more details.

According to Birth. Movies. Death., Creed director Ryan Coogler is currently in talks to direct Black Panther for Marvel. It is unclear just how far along the negotiations currently are, but we haven’t heard any other names being considered as of late. F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) was said to be a possibility until he signed on for Furious 8 instead.

Coogler seems to fit the profile for a Marvel project considering that he is still fairly young and (I assume) inexpensive. The success of Creed may have increased his value a little bit, but it also proved that he can work within the confines of an established franchise and collaborate with big stars, not to mention the fact that it shows he can handle action. More importantly, he is now a name that will bring more credibility to the project than just another TV director. Do you think Ryan Coogler is a great choice to direct Blank Panther?