Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will produce a jukebox musical featuring Prince's iconic songs. Also in the project is Michael B. Jordan.
According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is working on a musical centered on Prince. In particular, Coogler will produce a jukebox musical featuring iconic Prince songs for Universal Pictures. The project, in development since 2018, comes from Proximity Media and has a screenplay by Bryan Edward Hill.
Producers include Coogler, Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian and Universal Music Publishing Group president Jody Gerson. Proximity's Rebecca Cho serves as executive producer.
Some details
THR reported earlier this week that Coogler's next untitled film for Warner Bros. starring Michael B. Jordan is scheduled for release on March 7, 2025, and that the studio landed the coveted project in February after a bidding war. The two have a long professional history behind them: Coogler has already directed Jordan in Next Stop Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed – Born to Fight (2015) and Black Panther (2018). The film, still untitled, will be an original story inspired by Prince's music and will not focus on the life of the iconic pop star.
Most recently, Coogler directed the 2022 Marvel sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He is credited with having worked on the lyrics of the song “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna, contained in the film's soundtrack, which earned him Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy nominations.
Prince is a music icon known for a string of hits, including When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Kiss and Batdance, all of which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His film credits include participation in the rock musical Purple Rain by Albert Magnoli in 1984.