Earlier this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences responded to the #OscarsSoWhite campaign with a series of wide-sweeping promises, intended to improve the representation of minority actors, writers, and directors in its future nominations, as well as the makeup of the committee that determines those nods. To that end, the Academy issued a record-breaking 683 new invitations to itself this year, with requests for membership going out to stars like Idris Elba, America Ferrera, Regina King, Cary Fukunaga, and Creed star Michael B. Jordan.
The Academy also reached out to Jordan’s frequent director, Ryan Coogler, currently set to helm Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther film. But according to sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Coogler—whose exclusion from this year’s Oscars for Creed was one of the catalysts that helped kick off #OscarsSoWhite—has ignored the entreaty, and apparently has no interest in joining the Academy. It’s not clear what Coogler’s quiet refusal of the Academy’s offer represents; according to the THR story, the director’s representatives declined to comment on his invitation to the group.
