Marvel finally answered the question fans have been sitting with since 2020: who inherits the Black Panther mantle. The answer arrived at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, where director Ryan Coogler confirmed Black Panther 3 and introduced David Jonsson as the actor stepping into the role.
Coogler took the Hall H stage alongside Letitia Wright and Winston Duke to reveal he is returning to direct the third instalment, set for release on December 15, 2028.
The announcement closed a six-year gap since the franchise last confirmed new film details, and the reveal of who would carry the story forward was clearly the moment the room had been waiting for.
Jonsson will play the grown version of T’Challa’s son, the character first introduced at the close of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, when Nakia revealed to Shuri that she and T’Challa had a child they chose to raise away from the pressures of the Wakandan throne. The character’s name is Toussaint, also known as T’Challa II.
Coogler framed the sequel’s direction plainly while introducing him. “The last time we got to make a movie, we introduced a character who is the son of the character that the great Chadwick Boseman played, our T’Challa. And today, I want to tell you that in this next film, he grows up, he comes of age.”
Jonsson’s arrival on stage drew a standing ovation, with some sections of the crowd breaking into Wakanda chants. He kept his own remarks brief and clearly emotional.
“I want to say thank you so much. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honour and the privilege and the blessing to join. I don’t want to say too much so the screen can do the talking. But believe me, the honour is entirely mine,” he said.
For a 32-year-old actor, the casting represents a significant leap. Jonsson has built his profile steadily over the past few years rather than through one singular breakout, earning recognition for playing the android Andy in Alien: Romulus, starring alongside Cooper Hoffman in Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, and appearing in HBO’s Industry.
Denzel Washington is also confirmed as part of the Black Panther 3 cast, alongside Wright reprising her role as Shuri and Duke returning as M’Baku.
The film carries symbolic weight beyond casting news. Chadwick Boseman, who originated the role of T’Challa in the 2018 original, died of colon cancer in 2020 while Coogler was already working on the sequel.
This loss reshaped the franchise’s entire trajectory and led Wright’s Shuri to take up the mantle in Wakanda Forever. Passing the title to T’Challa’s own son, now grown, gives the franchise a natural next chapter rather than a replacement narrative, continuing the family line rather than simply recasting the role.
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Coogler also revealed that Black Panther 3 will be shot entirely on large-format celluloid film, a first for the MCU. This technical choice signals just how seriously the studio is treating this instalment.
The first Black Panther grossed $1.3 billion worldwide and won three Oscars, numbers that set an extraordinarily high bar for whatever comes next.
With Coogler back behind the camera and Jonsson stepping into a role that carries both a father’s legacy and a franchise’s future, Black Panther 3 has already positioned itself as one of Marvel’s most closely watched releases heading into 2028.
