Black Panther 2 Director Ryan Coogler Won’t Boycott Filming In Georgia

The highly controversial Election Integrity Act of 2021 passed by Georgia has been criticized by regular people, celebrities as well as voting rights groups. The new bill signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp last month will reduce the number of ballot drop boxes, ban the supply of food and water to voters in line, and add multiple extra steps to the registration and absentee voting process.

Will Smith had previously revealed that he will not be filming in Georgia due to the controversial law. However, it seems despite Georgia’s controversial voting laws, Black Panther 2 will still film in the state.

While speaking to Deadline, Black Panther 2 director Ryan Coogler stated that he will not boycott filming in Georgia. Coogler explained that he is vehemently against the act but added that not filming in Georgia will only hurt the citizens even more.

Having now spoken with voting rights activists in the state, I have come to understand that many of the people employed by my film, including all the local vendors and businesses we engage, are the very same people who will bear the brunt of SB202. For those reasons, I will not be engaging in a boycott of Georgia. What I will be doing is using my voice to emphasize the effects of SB202, it’s shameful roots in Jim Crow, and doing all I can to support organizations fighting voter suppression here in the state.

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Black Panther 2 is slated to release on July 8 2022 and we will have to see whether the film will be a worthy sequel to the first movie.