Ever since Denzel Washington confirmed his appearance in Black Panther 3, the MCU fanbase has been ablaze, consistently churning the rumour mill about which character the Oscar winner could play in the movie. Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o has also addressed the speculation.
Nyong’o portrays Nakia, the love interest of T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman) and the mother of Toussaint, aka T’Challa Jr.
While little information is available about Black Panther 3, rumours about its storyline and cast members have already begun to flood social media and other platforms.
In a recent interview with EW, Nyong’o addressed rumours about Washington’s addition to the third film, as well as the possibility of recasting T’Challa. She casually denied both. She added that she wouldn’t believe any rumours until director Ryan Coogler officially confirmed them. This is what she said:
“Well, I won’t believe it until I hear it from Ryan himself, because what if Denzel has a role and I don’t?” she told podcast host Gerrad Hall. “Let me stay humble and ignorant until the leader of the pack actually says something.”
Well, this is the first time we’ve seen a Marvel actor deny a confirmed casting. The situation is somewhat amusing, considering Washington himself has confirmed his appearance in Black Panther 3.
Washington announced his involvement in the threequel on The Today Show in November 2024. However, he did not reveal which role he will play in Coogler’s upcoming project.
Prominent Marvel producer Nate Moore has also not disclosed any details about Washington’s character, but he did confirm that Washington will portray someone from the MCU canon. As for recasting T’Challa, he simply stated, “There’s no truth to those rumours.”
We also don’t know how far along Black Panther 3 is in development. Coogler began filming his next project, Sinners, a period horror film starring Michael B. Jordan, in April 2024. Production wrapped in July of that year, meaning the acclaimed filmmaker was occupied with Sinners throughout the first half of 2024.
Now, Coogler is overseeing the post-production of Sinners, which is set to hit theatres worldwide on April 18, 2025. This suggests that we shouldn’t expect him to begin working on Black Panther 3 in the first half of 2025.
Based on Lupita Nyong’o’s recent comments, it seems the threequel doesn’t even have a first draft of its storyline yet. However, Washington’s early casting announcement suggests that Coogler already has a perfect and compelling character in mind for him—one that would also do justice to his acting abilities.
Washington could even play a villain in Black Panther 3. Who knows? But his casting implies that Coogler has at least a basic vision for the third film’s plot. Stay tuned for more updates.
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