Editor Mike Shawver discusses how he collaborated with filmmaker Ryan Coogler to craft Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Following Chadwick Boseman’s death, the script was completely rewritten by Coogler to honor his legacy. Coogler guided Black Panther: Wakanda Forever every step of the way, working closely with the editors and even the composer.
The cast and crew have talked about how collaborative he is as a director, especially as they grieved for Boseman while working on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. During an interview with Screen Rant, Shawver explains how he collaborated with Coogler on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He describes Coogler as “the nicest; so thoughtful, so caring of everyone, and he believes that the people who make the film are more important than the film itself.” He also explains how Coogler trusts the editors and listens to their input about how to tell the story.
Mike Shawver: If you want the whole story, that would probably take years because he is just unbelievable. It’s hard to put him in a category of anything because he’s such an amazing human being. He’s the nicest; so thoughtful, so caring of everybody, and he believes that the people who make the movie are more important than the movie itself. When you do it like that, you care about the people around you and support them. If someone’s having a bad day? “Take off, go home, go see your kids, do whatever.” That kind of thing.
Working with Ryan is very, very organic. He is so open. At times I’m like, “Yo, can you take a look at this scene? Because I just want to know what you think.” He’ll just let me go and do stuff. He’ll tell me what he thinks, and I’m like, “All right, cool. Point me in the direction and let me cut.” He’s open to anything, even if it’s something he was adamantly against the entire time, if it works. I’ve worked with a few different co-editors, and usually there’s two of us. If both editors are like, “A is better than B,” even though he liked B, he would put A in because he can let that go. He understands that this movie is for everybody, and we’ve talked enough and care about the story enough that we have a level of ownership. We wouldn’t do something that’s not for the movie first.
Ryan Coogler’s Directing Methods In Black Panther 2 Benefit The MCU
Shawver has been an editor on Coogler’s films since the beginning, with Fruitvale Station, Creed, and both Black Panther movies. Coogler’s approach allows him to guide the story while still being open to other people’s creative ideas. It isn’t surprising that many of his creative partners, like Shawver, have continued to work with him on multiple projects. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever composer Ludwig Göransson, who has also collaborated with Coogler on each of his projects, revealed how involved the director was in composing both the score and soundtrack to create a fully immersive experience for the movie.
Coogler’s directing method was especially important to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With the movie honoring the memory of Chadwick Boseman, Coogler listening to actors’ thoughts about their characters, Göransson’s musical instincts, and Shawver’s ideas about editing gave them a sense of ownership over the movie that helped them through their grief. This collaborative directing approach elevates Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, making it one of the strongest Phase Four movies. It also gives the actors the confidence to advocate for their characters in other MCU projects.
This proved true not only with the already established cast and crew but with the newcomers as well. Dominique Thorne shared how Coogler’s detailed approach to crafting Riri with input about what she believes is key to the character helped her find Riri Williams not only in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever but in Ironheart as well. Coogler has proven himself to be a truly impressive director not only based on the movies he has created but also with his ability to put the movie ahead of his ego and create an environment that draws talented collaborators to work with him.