Ryan Coogler has only made four feature-length films so far in his career, yet the writer and director has already amassed a truly impressive filmography. After a series of shorts that teased his great talents, Coogler made his debut film Fruitvale Station in 2013, which also helped catapult his frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan to stardom.
Since his debut, Coogler has brought new life to the Rocky franchise with 2015’s Creed, and made one of the most successful superhero films ever made with 2018’s Black Panther. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters, let’s take a look at the already spectacular filmography of Coogler, from his shorts to one of the biggest blockbusters of 2022. (Side note: this list does not include Coogler’s 2011 short, The Sculptor, as it is not available to watch online)
6. Fig
From his earliest shorts to blockbuster superhero films, there’s an optimism that permeates the work of Ryan Coogler. Even in his stories that center around tragic situations, there’s always a level of hope for the future that things could be better, than the world will be improved. But that isn’t the case with his 2011 short Fig, about Candace (Jontille Gerard), a mother trying to provide for her daughter, regardless of what it takes. Written by Alex George Pickering, Fig is the only film on this list not written by Coogler and his absence in the script can be felt. Fig ends up bleak without much solace, a downhill journey where attempts to do the right thing are pummeled by the world around you.
But Coogler’s directing is already distinct, and he’s showing improvement from his first short, Locks, with a richness that was lacking in that debut. This would also be the first time Coogler would work with composer Ludwig Göransson, a collaboration that would lead to the composer earning an Oscar. Yet the real star of this short is Jontille Gerard, who gives a tremendous and heartbreaking performance as Candace, who is just doing the best she can with what she has been given—an attempt to be the light in her daughter’s life, even when the darkness seems overwhelming.
5. Locks
So much of Coogler’s style can be found in his 2009 short Locks, a student film made while he was at USC. Told with no dialogue, Locks follows the character of Dante (Turen Robinson) as he heads through his neighborhood to get a haircut. So many of Coogler’s films are about how much where you’re from informs who you are, yet never has to fully define the person, and that’s certainly part of Dante’s journey. In Locks’ five-minute runtime, we see how a neighborhood can weigh on someone, but also be a source of beauty. While Dante sees police arresting someone, with a gun at the ready, he also passes by a group of friends that boosts his spirits soon after. The neighborhood isn’t perfect, but one has to take the good with the bad.
Locks ends on a sentimental note that somehow feels earned, despite the short runtime, as Dante’s choice to cut his hair is for the benefit of another. Coogler finding the light in the dark comes up throughout the director’s work, and even though Locks is fairly simple in its message, its execution is already impressive, full of delusions and surprises along the way. For a five-minute short, it’s easy to see the DNA of Coogler’s work already starting to form in this early short.
4. Fruitvale Station
Coogler’s feature-length debut is a strong calling card for an exciting new director, but it still has its fair share of issues. In the opening moments of Fruitvale Station, we see the tragic death of Oscar Grant (played by Michael B. Jordan), and then precede to get a fictionalized presentation of what his final day on New Year’s Eve 2008 might’ve been like. But in this exploration, Coogler packs Fruitvale Station with heavy-handed foreshadowing for the inevitable conclusion that we know is coming. A dog is hit by a car and abandoned, with only Oscar there to comfort him in his final moments, while a visit to a grocery store’s fish department has a woman asking “can I see your sole?” While we know this is Grant’s last day, it would be hard for this Grant to not also realize his fate, given all the signs life—and Coogler, specifically—are throwing at him.
But the beauty of Fruitvale Station is how Coogler primarily focuses on the positive parts of Grant’s last day, through his decisions to start anew and try to be better going forward, or his dedication to family and friends after hurting them with his recent time in jail. It’s no wonder that Jordan became a sought-after actor after this lead performance, and that Coogler and Jordan have been inseparable ever since, with the pair teaming up on all of Coogler’s feature films so far. Fruitvale Station made both Coogler and Jordan exciting new prospects in Hollywood, and even though this first film is a bit muddled in its choices, Coogler’s focuses on the good in a person is through line that has continued throughout his subsequent films.
3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had the unenviable task of being one of the final films in the MCU’s stuffed Phase Four, while also attempting to be a loving and moving tribute to the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and the king of Wakanda, T’Challa. The love for Boseman is brimming out of Wakanda Forever, and the highly-anticipated sequel is at its best when the film is allowed to sit in its grief, as Coogler and cast clearly miss the former head of this series. Even before the Marvel logo composed only of Boseman’s moments in the MCU, the tears start streaming in a way that is completely unexpected in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But Wakanda Forever can’t be just a tearful remembrance of Boseman, but it also has to be a major superhero action film, and thankfully, Coogler mostly makes that dichotomy work. Wakanda Forever primarily focuses on the people that meant the most to T’Challa, and how the loss of the king has changed the land of Wakanda. This is most evident in Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s tech-savvy sister who still struggles with the loss of her brother a year later. Yet with Wakanda and the attacking civilization of Talokan and their leader Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), we see Coogler continuing to show just how important community is to their inhabitants and how that shifts and forms the people within. With Wakanda Forever, Coogler said a moving goodbye to one of the MCU’s greatest heroes, and a friend who left a major impact with his unfortunately short time in this world.
2. Black Panther
Much has been said about how the MCU has a director problem, how the company will often hire exciting new filmmakers without allowing them the creative freedom that made them interesting in the first place. But that’s certainly not the case with Black Panther, which feels right in line with Coogler’s work, as Coogler crafted one of the most fleshed-out and exciting worlds that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever seen. We can feel the history and traditions that have made Wakanda the most advanced country in the world. Coogler explores ideas of how much people in positions of power should help the less fortunate, and with one of the most captivating antagonists Marvel has introduced, as Erik Killmonger (Jordan) actually kind of has a point in his villainous plan. But it’s Coogler’s spirit of celebration and appreciation for this culture and world that makes Black Panther so thrilling.
Coogler’s Wakanda is a fully realized world, complete with an excellent cast of supporting characters that are just as interesting—if not more interesting—as T’Challa. But Black Panther is also just a hell of a lot of fun, from the car chase through Busan to just watching T’Challa going through the trials that will test if he’s ready to become the next Black Panther. It’s no wonder that Black Panther became one of the most successful superhero films of all time. Beyond just being an important film whose legacy will only grow thanks in large part to Boseman, Black Panther proved that when Marvel allows the director to have control over their vision, it can lead to some of the best films in the MCU.
1. Creed
Thirty years after the release of 1976’s Rocky, it seemed like Sylvester Stallone had said finally goodbye to his iconic character with 2006’s Rocky Balboa. Yet with Creed in 2015, Coogler and co-writer Aaron Covington turned Rocky from the underdog fighter into a coach for the next generation—a shift that completely revitalized what this decades-long franchise could be.
Coogler’s take on the Rocky-verse is a jolt of adrenaline into the franchise, as Apollo Creed’s son Adonis Creed (Jordan) decides to leave his life and job in Los Angeles to follow his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Coogler and Covington make Adonis’ story feel both familiar and unique, as we are reminded of what made us love the Rocky franchise in the first place, while seeing this story through a completely new set of eyes. Creed enhances everything that was once great about this series, as Coogler feels like a fan that finally got the keys to this kingdom. The fights are more brutal and absorbing than they’ve been in a long time, especially with Creed’s one-take fight that makes it feel like we’re getting beat up in the process.
Not only does Coogler bring in a perfect new face for this franchise going forward with Jordan, but gives Stallone a story that he can really sink his teeth into. Stallone gives maybe the best performance of his career (which also earned him an Oscar nomination), as this older Rocky deeply misses his wife Adrian, and has to tackle a new type of fight when he’s diagnosed with cancer. But the bond between the old generation and the new generation is incredibly charming, as Jordan and Stallone’s dynamic is almost akin to a father and son, as both try to help each other be better in their own ways.
In just a few short years, Coogler has built up a great filmography, from impactful shorts to some of the biggest superhero films ever made. But it’s Coogler’s attempt to dive into the deep history of the Rocky franchise and put his own spin on things that is the best film of his career so far.