Ryan Coogler Shares What He Learned From Working With Chadwick Boseman On Marvel's Black Panther

Ryan Coogler is the talk of the town (as far as Hollywood is concerned) thanks to his 2025 masterpiece "Sinners," and in a recent profile with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-nominated writer and director opened up about what it was like to work with the late, great Chadwick Boseman on "Black Panther." Apparently, he learned a lot — including how to live in the moment as much as one can.

Boseman, who passed away in August of 2020 due to complications from stage 4 colon cancer, played Coogler's titular superhero, T'Challa of Wakanda — and Coogler says that though it was a difficult time for him personally, he'll never forget working with Boseman. "Engaging with him on an artistic level, conversations that will forever just be between me and him — I was about 30 years old, stressed, completely out of my mind, sleep-deprived, convinced that the movie wasn't going to work," he told David Canfield.

According to Coogler, he was so firmly in his own head that he worried he wasn't present working on "Black Panther" with Boseman. "I robbed myself of truly enjoying that privilege — even of sitting there and enjoying the countless Chadwick Boseman takes, because he didn't have a bad take," he mused. "So when he passed, I'm like, 'Oh my God, how much stuff have I not allowed myself to enjoy because I was in my own head — feeling like I was unworthy?'" He continued:

"I'm going to take the lessons from Chad for the rest of my life, bro. That includes all of this. I have to see the good in things, see the value in things, and not let imposter syndrome or guilt or negativity rob me of moments with my cast who I love — or with folks who want to say, 'Hey, good job.'"

As Ryan Coogler ultimately revealed to David Canfield, this sort of anxiety — and, frankly, impostor syndrome — has plagued the writer-director on his films since the beginning, including his 2013 directorial debut "Fruitvale Station." The movie tells the harrowing true story of Oscar Grant (portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), a young man killed by transit police officers in Oakland in 2009 ... and while Coogler says he "did have a need to make that movie," he immediately felt out of place when it was released, even though it earned rave reviews and performed well at the box office. "You can convince yourself that somebody's playing a joke on you," he recalled. "You can convince yourself that none of this is real: 'I don't deserve to be here. This place isn't for me.'"

Looking back, though, Coogler thinks his youth was a big factor (which makes a lot of sense, because he wasn't even 30 years old when he made it). "['Fruitvale Station'] was made by a person who didn't totally understand how the world worked — like, straight up," Coogler says. 

I think what Coogler learned from this, though, is vitally important. "This is why we need films from people who are naive, the reason why we need films from people who aren't old enough or jaded enough to understand that art can only do so much," he wisely told Canfield, making a case that we need art from all perspectives. "There's a place for optimism. There's a place for youthful ignorance. It's a vital place." With "Sinners," Coogler has shown his growth as a director ... and made his best and most personal project to date.

In the profile, Michael B. Jordan — who has been a part of nearly all of Ryan Coogler's movies save for the sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," and that's only because his character dies in the first "Black Panther" movie — spoke to David Canfield as well and said that he truly believes "Sinners" is Coogler's most impressive work yet. After saying he feels "proud" of his friend and collaborator, Jordan continued, "To go through every stage of filmmaking and creation — writing through the studio system and independent film, from preexisting IP to making original IP — this entire journey just feels full. It feels complete. To see everybody embrace him, for him to get his flowers this way, it's just a tremendous sense of joy."

Coogler's wife Zinzi, who's also his producing partner, took it one step further. "I see Ryan the most in this movie," she told Canfield. "This film is deeply reflective of him. It's personal in a way that's woven into the DNA of every character and every choice."

That's particularly touching, knowing that, throughout his career, Coogler has struggled to feel like he deserves to be making movies — particularly ones on as grand a scale as "Sinners." With Michael B. Jordan playing Black Southern twins who return from Chicago to open a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta only to be attacked by vampires during opening night, "Sinners" is a musical horror spectacular that also manages to be funny, sexy, and heartfelt. Coogler deserves all of his success and more — and hopefully, his time with Chadwick Boseman helped him learn that. "Sinners" is streaming on HBO Max now, and it even features a quiet ode to Boseman.