“Black Panther will return,” Marvel promised at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. When the superhero does eventually return to the big screen, they’ll be joined onscreen by Denzel Washington, according to the actor himself.
While Marvel Studios hasn’t officially announced a Black Panther 3 for its upcoming slate, Washington says that one is in the works, and that writer-director Ryan Coogler is writing a role for him. Speaking on Australia’s Today show during press rounds for Gladiator II, Washington outlined his upcoming list of projects, saying that he’s slated to appear in a third Black Panther movie.
“At this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best,” Washington said. “I don’t know how many more films I’m gonna make, probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done.
“I played Othello at 22. I’m about to play Othello at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that I’m gonna do the film Othello. After that I’m gonna do King Lear. After that I’m gonna retire.”
Washington’s second turn as Othello is happening on Broadway in 2025, where he’ll co-headline with Jake Gyllenhaal. Washington will then play Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, in a movie directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) and written by John Logan (Gladiator) for Netflix. It’s not clear what McQueen’s next project is — his World War II movie Blitz just came out — so it’s also unclear when Washington would have time in his schedule to film Black Panther 3.
Marvel’s current slate has announced films scheduled through 2026: That’s when Avengers: Doomsday and the fourth Tom Holland Spider-Man movie are pegged to hit theaters. Marvel Studios also has two untitled films on the books for 2027.
Coogler’s first Black Panther movie for Marvel premiered in 2018. It was a critical and financial success, garnering seven Oscar nominations (winning three) and grossing $1.35 billion globally. Coogler returned for 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which saw actor Letitia Wright take over for the late Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero. Wright recently teased that she too may return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it was unclear in which project(s).
But Wakanda Forever also introduced audiences to another potential successor to the Black Panther mantle: T’Challa and Nakia’s son Toussaint, whose Wakandan name is T’Challa.
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