'Black Panther' maker explains why third installment was delayed

Ryan Coogler is set to make Black Panther 3, but he opted to shoot Sinners before the third installment. 

In an interview with Deadline, the filmmaker explained the reason, saying, “It is interesting for you to ask where this came from and timing it before Black Panther 3."

“It was my realization that I had been on this path of what I could make and what I wanted to make. And realizing they had all been in the service of stories that were outside of myself," the 38-year-old added.

Given his unclear response, Ryan was asked to clarify what he meant. He then looked back at his films.

"I found a way into all of them, but Fruitvale Station was a real story that happened. Creed, that I was making for my dad, that was my way in, but that was Sly Stallone’s, and Irwin Winkler and Bob Chartoff, their thing," the director said.

He continued, "I reframed it and made it personal, but that was still their thing. Black Panther, that was an open directing assignment, a job I was hired for."

Despite these feats, Ryan pointed, "But I looked up, and I got two kids now, one was born in Georgia while I was there making a movie. And I said, bro, I’m almost 40. I got this company that can make things."

"I’ve engaged with audiences all over the planet, man. Who can say, at my age, that they’ve had four movies released theatrically? And yet I still haven’t really opened myself up to the audience," he shared.

Sinners will be out in US theaters on April 18, 2025.