“Black Panther will return,” Marvel promised at the end Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. When the superhero eventually returns to the big screen, they will be joined on screen by Denzel Washington, according to the actor himself.
Although Marvel Studios hasn’t officially released one yet Black Panther 3 for the upcoming film, Washington says one is in the works, and writer-director Ryan Coogler is writing a role for him. Speaking on Australia’s Today show during press rounds Gladiator IIWashington outlined his upcoming list of projects and said he will appear in a third Black Panther film.
“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’ll make, probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done yet.
“I played Othello when I was 22. I’m about to play Othello at 70. Then I play Hannibal. Then I talked to Steve McQueen about a movie. Then Ryan Coogler writes a role for me in the next Black Panther. Then I’ll make the film Othello. Then I’m going to do King Lear. Then I will retire.”
Washington’s second turn as Othello is set on Broadway in 2025where he will headline alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Washington will then play Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, in a film directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training day, The equalizer) and written by John Logan (Gladiator) for Netflix. It’s unclear what McQueen’s next project is: his World War II film Lightning just now came out – so it’s also unclear when Washington would have time to film Black Panther 3.
Coogler’s first Black Panther film for Marvel premiered in 2018. It was a critical and financial success, with seven Oscar nominations (three of which it won) and a worldwide gross of $1.35 billion. Coogler returned for 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverwhich saw actor Letitia Wright take over from the late Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero. Wright recently teased that she too may return to the Marvel Cinematic Universebut it was unclear in which project(s).