Denzel Washington says he will star in ‘Black Panther 3’
Denzel Washington is leaving Rome for Wakanda.
During an interview on Australia’s “Today” to promote “Gladiator II,” the two-time Oscar winner revealed that “Black Panther 3” is one of his forthcoming projects before he plans to retire.
“I’m about to play Othello at 70,” Washington said of his upcoming Broadway show. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal [in Antoine Fuqua‘s Netflix film]. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler‘s writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’ After that, I’m going to do the film ‘Othello.’ After that, I’m doing ‘King Lear.’ After that, I’m going to retire.”
“Black Panther 3” has not yet been greenlit — it’s not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five or Six plans — and Washington’s offhand announcement is the first piece of news about it since Leticia Wright said in January 2023 that she believes a third film is “already in the works” and that writer-director Coogler has to “get back in the lab.” Wright led the 2022 sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in the wake of Chadwick Boseman‘s death from colon cancer in 2020.
Washington already has a connection to “Black Panther.” In 2019, a year after “Black Panther” hit theaters, Boseman honored Washington at the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, revealing that he was a beneficiary of one of the numerous acting programs Washington has quietly funded throughout his career. “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington,” Boseman said.
Washington, who’s been generating Oscar buzz for his scene-stealing performance in “Gladiator II,” told “Today” that he’s particular about the projects he joins now, noting that “it’s about the filmmaker.” “Especially at this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best,” he said. “I don’t know how many more films I’m gonna make. It’s probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done.”