When you start talking about movies of that size, they're trying to sell globally to foreign markets. So there is an economic question that can't be ignored, and that's a fair discussion to have. But maybe it's not the time to make that movie if you can't depict people accurately.

Being able to interact with [studio president] Kevin Feige and have him know who I am and know me as a person, and be able to then sit down and have a conversation about story with someone who's familiar and comfortable is invaluable.

I figured out I wanted to tell stories in college. I'm an only child who moved around a lot growing up, and I really feel like it prepared me to be a storyteller - to make up stories and pretend to be every hero from every movie and TV show as a kid. So it was a natural progression.

There is a huge fan base for the Black Panther comic and for Marvel as a whole. And I think there is great anticipation across the board for the movie. I think that's how Marvel is approaching it and I know that's how I'm approaching it.

This problem [of historical opportunities] compounds itself by limiting the number of people in the pipeline to attain the experience to do larger movies or get jobs so they can familiarize themselves with a studio head and get the opportunity to deliver and impress - or maybe direct a smaller movie. It will take a considerable amount of time to rectify. It's very difficult because it starts at the top.

Well, TV does a better job. In film, the justification has been that movies focused on stories or featuring people of color don't make money.

I write characters focusing on them as human beings, and then you wrap them within a culture. So I think I can connect with him as a person with brown skin who's viewed differently by the world. In terms of his culture, we're thinking about where we are locating Wakanda within the continent, and what the people and history of that region are like. It's a process of investigation to help inform the story at this point. But we are going to be engaged with consultants who are experts on the continent and on African history and politics.