One of Denzel Washington's last films will be “Black Panther 3,” he reveals

Denzel Washington could be on his way to another Oscar nomination or win for his role in “Gladiator II,” many say, but the 69-year-old actor says he plans to retire after just a few more films go. One of them? Black Panther 3, as it turns out. Yes, Denzel Washington will be joining the MCU, albeit for a short time.

In an interview with the Today Show, Denzel revealed that director Ryan Coogler is writing a role specifically for him in Black Panther 3. No, Denzel Washington isn't auditioning for existing roles, that's not absurd. But we don't know what that role will be, whether hero, villain, major Marvel character or not. Here's the full list of films Denzel confirms he'll be doing:

• Spike Lee's High N Low
• Hannibal by Antoine Fuqua
• A Steve McQueen film
• Black Panther 3
• An Othello adaptation

Five more films is certainly enough to probably get him into his mid-70s, so I think he deserves retirement after that. However, we have of course seen many actors who have “retired” and returned for one role or another that appeals to them sufficiently.

As for Black Panther 3, the project hasn't even been officially confirmed by Marvel, although it obviously exists. However, there's no release date and Marvel's current MCU film slate seems pretty solidly scheduled through early 2027. So we may have to wait a while for this to come to fruition.

There's little point in speculating about what role Denzel will play in the cast of Black Panther. I've heard Blue Marvel, but that's just speculation. I wonder if he wanted to get involved not just because of Coogler, but also because of the great material Angela Bassett was able to work with in the second film, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars, which usually ignores most superheroes become films.

We're still waiting to find out what exactly the plan is for Black Panther as a character going forward. Shuri took over the role in the second film, with the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman meaning he could no longer wear the cowl, and T'Challa also dying in-universe. It was later revealed that he had a son that no one knew about, and the idea is that he might grow up and become the new, “definitive” version of Black Panther in the MCU. However, that would have to be quite a jump in time. I don't expect any further details on this for a long time.

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