Ryan Coogler working on Prince movie musical
RYAN Coogler is set to produce a new movie for Universal Pictures based on Prince’s extensive song collection, according to The InSneider newsletter.
The ‘Black Panther’ director will produce the jukebox musical project alongside Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian, Atom Factory’s Troy Carter and Universal Music Publishing Group chair Jody Gerson.
Proximity Media’s Rebecca Cho will executive produce.
The film — which was written by Bryan Edward Hill — has been in development since 2018.
Meanwhile, it was previously revealed that Ryan and his frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan are reuniting for a new top-secret project.
The filmmaker and actor have worked together on Coogler’s 2013 directorial debut ‘Fruitvale Station’, 2015 ‘Rocky’ spin-off ‘Creed’ and the ‘Black Panther’ MCU movies, and now they are set to collaborate again.
The Hollywood Reporter shared in January that Coogler, 37, had a new script ready to go — the first under the banner of his new production company, Proximity Media — that is based on an original idea, and Coogler had turned to Jordan, 36, to be his leading man once again.
The project was described as a genre feature with a period element.
In January, studio executives and buyers went to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, to view the script and be informed about plot details by Coogler. Jordan is set to continue his story as heavyweight champion boxer Adonis Creed — the son of Apollo Creed, Rocky’s most famous opponent — in a fourth ‘Creed’ film.