Black Panther women could 'easily carry their own movie', Ryan Coolger says

'If an opportunity like that came up, that would be amazing'

Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia (l) and Letitia Wright as Shuri (r) in Black Panther (Disney)

Black Panther stormed cinemas earlier this year, breaking box office records and winning over millions of fans.

Much of the praise was aimed towards the movie’s female characters, particularly those played by Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright.

Speaking at Cannes Film Festival, Ryan Coogler told an audience that the women could “easily carry their own movie” and that “if an opportunity like that came up, that would be amazing.” The director pointed out that the characters have their own spin-off comic book.

Asked by moderator Elvis Mitchell whether the women of Black Panther, Coogler added: “I think you could argue they are more important.”

“There’s a whole section of the film where T’Challa is out of the movie and you’re just following the women,” Coogler continued. “That’s one of my favourite parts of the movie when I watched it, and I did not expect that.”

The director added that Marvel pitched Black Panther as their version of James Bond. Films that went on to influence the final movie included The Godfather, the father and son relationship of the classic gangster flick.

“Making a film about a guy who lives in a secretive country, his father dies, now he has to step into this position of power,” Coogler said, according to Variety. “The Godfather is one of the greatest films ever made on the same subject matter. I kind of realised the best way for me to look at Black Panther is like a crime movie.”

Black Panther has since been surpassed by Avengers: Infinity War – which also heavily stars Black Panther‘s cast – as the year’s highest grossing movie. The sequel, Avengers 4, reaches cinemas next year.