Director of possibly the best solo Marvel movie to date, 2018’s Black Panther, Ryan Coogler has given a whole new flavor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a true auteur vision. The fame which comes with directing an Academy Award-nominated film isn’t all fantastic, however.
In March 2022, Coogler was arrested for a bank robbery, though it’s not all it seems and there’s plenty of background to it.
Why was Coogler arrested?
In Jan. 2022, Coogler went to a Bank of America branch in Atlanta to make a cash withdrawal to the tune of $12,000. The director wrote down his request on a sheet of paper, handed it to the clerk who believed something suspicious was happening. TMZ reported his note said “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”.
The amount makes it definitely slightly peculiar, but it’s a normal request to have it counted elsewhere. Coogler was wearing a facemask, sunglasses, and a beanie, which is typical fare for a January outing in the pandemic. The teller then called the police on Coogler, believing he was attempting to rob the bank.
It ended up being a massive misunderstanding, with police quickly realizing (after handcuffing Coogler) the teller had made a major gaffe. The teller told her boss the amount being withdrawn caused some sort of alarm to go off in their system, hence their suspicion.
Coogler, understandably, was frustrated with the whole event and asked for badge numbers of all police officers involved. He returned to his set to film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever following the incident.
The ordeal, ultimately, was fairly harmless. Coogler’s next film Wakanda Forever is due in cinemas Nov. 11.