The wunderkind's previous two movies — 2013 Sundance darling Fruitvale Station, about the killing of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man shot in the back by police while facedown on an Oakland subway platform; and 2015's Rocky reboot, Creed, about a young boxer who grows up in juvenile detention and learns to channel his anger in the ring — were both critical and box - office hits, leaving
little doubt Coogler was up to the challenge.