TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - British actor David Jonsson has been tapped to lead Marvel Studios' upcoming Black Panther 3, taking on the role of Prince T'Challa II.
The announcement was made during Marvel's Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, with director Ryan Coogler confirming that Jonsson will play the grown-up son of the late King T'Challa. The third installment is scheduled to hit theaters on December 15, 2028.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Variety that Coogler secretly met with Jonsson months before official casting searches were set to begin. According to Feige, Coogler reached out shortly after completing his work on the film Sinners.
"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,'" Feige recalled in an interview with Variety. "And I got chills, and I got a little welled-up and said, 'Let's do it'. So we've been sitting on this secret for a good five or six months."
Jonsson, best known for his performances in Alien: Romulus, The Long Walk, and the drama series Industry, joined Coogler on stage at Comic-Con to address the crowd.
"Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and the privilege and the blessing to join," Jonsson said in a statement reported by NBC News. "I actually don't want to say too much because I want to let this screen do the talking."
The character of Prince T'Challa II was first introduced as a child at the end of the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The upcoming third film will focus on the character coming of age and taking on the mantle of the Black Panther.
Original franchise cast members Letitia Wright and Winston Duke are set to return for the third installment. Wright previously took on the lead role in Wakanda Forever following the death of Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer at age 43 in 2020 after originating the character in the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther.
The original 2018 film earned U$1.3 billion worldwide and received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
During the same Hall H panel, Marvel Studios also announced that Ryan Gosling will star in a standalone Ghost Rider feature scheduled for 2028, directed by Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker Shawn Levy.
Read: Ryan Gosling Joins Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider
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