Ryan Coogler picked Black Panther’s successor years earlier than fans realised

Here we go again, with Marvel Studios somehow outmanoeuvring the rumour mill and getting a new Black Panther in place long before most of Hollywood even knew auditions were happening. The honour now goes to David Jonsson – you might know him from Industry or Rye Lane – who nabbed the role after a secretive bit of business involving Ryan Coogler and zero studio interference. And yes, this next chapter is further off than you might want, but it’s happening: the third Black Panther film lands in cinemas on 15 December 2028.

‘He had a secret meeting with him under cloak of darkness in a hotel somewhere, and called me afterwards and said, “He’s the guy, he’s the guy, I felt it. I felt it in my soul. He’s a good man, and he is the next Black Panther.”’

(That’s Marvel boss Kevin Feige, by the way, spilling this whole process to Empire magazine.)

How It Really Happened

The backstory’s a little bit film noir, honestly. Feige explained that the studio plan was to let the dust settle after this year’s Oscars before even thinking about casting. See, Coogler had his hands full with his other film, Sinners, and the official hunt for Boseman’s successor wasn’t even supposed to start until... well, quite a bit later. But Coogler wasn’t playing by the calendar, clearly.

Turns out, about six weeks before those studio meetings were scheduled, Coogler rings Feige out of the blue: 'I found him. He’s this guy, David Jonsson.' Jonsson is best known for his lead in Industry, but he’s stacked up a fair bit of buzz after Rye Lane, some work in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk too. Apparently, Coogler headed off alone and had this clandestine sit-down with Jonsson in a hotel – no agents, no studio brass, the full top-secret routine. He rings Feige straight after, says he’s got a gut feeling, says Jonsson’s the right man, full stop.

The New Prince in Wakanda

Jonsson isn’t taking over as T’Challa, but rather playing the adult version of Prince T’Challa II (Toussaint), the son of Chadwick Boseman’s original King T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. You may remember the lad as a child in Wakanda Forever. Black Panther 3 will now jump ahead to Toussaint’s adulthood – essentially handing over the mantle from both the original star and from Letitia Wright’s Shuri, who took up the claws and heart-shaped herb after Boseman’s shocking death in 2020.

Black Panther 3 premieres in cinemas on 15 December 2028.

If you’re still catching up: Wright and Winston Duke (M’Baku, to those in the back) are both confirmed to return. There was a deafening cheer in Hall H when Jonsson took the stage alongside Wright and Duke at Comic-Con. Marvel’s clearly betting this hand-over will keep the franchise just as bulletproof – but don’t expect Marvel to reveal much more before Coogler gets the cameras rolling.