'Black Panther' director: Women of Wakanda could carry their own spin-off film

Film critic Elvis Mitchell interviewed "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler for 90 minutes at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

Coogler said he would definitely like to make a spin-off movie led completely by the female characters from "Black Panther" played by actresses including Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira.

T'Challa, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, is protected by a team of women called the Dora Milaje. Variety reports that when someone asked Coogler if the women in "Black Panther" were as important as the men, he said, "I think you could argue they are more important."

He said that the segment of the film when the women believe that T'Challa is gone is one of his favorites. Cnet quoted him as saying, “You feel like you are watching something fresh and new. These actresses could easily carry their own movie. We had an embarrassment of riches. I would watch a movie with just them. That would be amazing if that opportunity came up.”

Indeed, there is huge fan interest in the Wakandan female warriors. Sony announced in March that it's teaming up with a Nigerian network to produce a TV show about the real-life inspiration for the Dora Milaje, an all-female 19th-century military regiment called the Dahomey Warriors.