After successfully resurrecting the Rocky series with Creed, director Ryan Coogler is set for an even bigger franchise: the Marvel cinematic universe. According to Birth. Movies. Death, he's in final talks with the studio to helm Black Panther, the superhero blockbuster he'd been rumored for in the pastSelma's Ava DuVernay was previously considered, but she passed on the opportunity.

Chadwick Boseman will star in the title role, also known as T'Challa, ruler of the fictional African country of Wakanda, who suits up to avenge his murdered father. Andy Serkis is likely to reprise his Avengers: Age of Ultron role of Ulysses Klaue as the villain of the movie, which is being scripted by Joe Robert Cole. 

The news comes at the end of a perfect week for Coogler and the character to come together, having begun with a box office triumph for Creed and continued with a nice spotlight on Black Panther in an Entertainment Weekly cover story about next year's Captain America: Civil War, in which he'll make his big-screen debut. Coogler has been on a steady rise since breaking out in 2013 with the Sundance winner Fruitvale Station.

It's still very early to get excited about this MCU installment, which won't be out until February 16, 2018, following Civil WarDoctor StrangeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, as well as a new Spider-Man movie tied to the franchise. Black Panther will then lead us into the next big crossover, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1, arriving three months later. 

And he'll look a little something like this...

via GIPHY