‘Black Panther’ is set to be honored with the Hollywood Film Award.
The Marvel Studios blockbuster hit – which was directed by Ryan Coogler and starred Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o – will be awarded the eponymously titled gong at this year’s Hollywood Film Awards, which will take place on Sunday (04.11.18).
The organization announced the news in a press release, which stated the movie has become a “cultural phenomenon”, as it helped to bring “diversity and representation” to Hollywood through its predominantly black cast.
A statement in the release reads: “‘Black Panther’ became a cultural phenomenon that has broken boundaries and created a movement, gracing the cover of Time Magazine. ‘Black Panther’ had the highest-grossing non-sequel opening weekend of all time, showing that diversity and representation in front of and behind the camera can equal global box office success.”
The continued success of the movie comes after it was recently revealed that filmmaker Ryan, 32, is set to return to helm the project’s sequel, after having already secured a deal with Marvel.
Ryan and Marvel have both been keen to reunite for a sequel, but the timing of the production has always been an uncertainty. But now, sources are saying that Ryan will write the script next year with the ambition of starting production in either late 2019 or early 2020.
Meanwhile, Ryan previously revealed Marvel was totally supportive of his ambitions for the original ‘Black Panther’ movie, even though it represented a step into unknown territory for the studio.
Ryan explained that Marvel didn’t make any efforts to dilute his plans for the film. The director – who also helmed 2015’s ‘Creed’ – explained: “The biggest thing for me was the themes of the story – let them know where my head was at and making sure they would get on board. I was very honest about the idea I wanted to explore in this film, which is what it means to be African. That was one of the first things I talked about. And they were completely interested.”