By all accounts, Denzel Washington has a scene stealing supporting (yet pivotal!) role in Gladiator II. Denzel plays Macrinus, an arms dealer who’s probably/definitely plotting the fall of the Roman Empire. The promotional campaign has been steadily ramping up, and one talking point Denzel keeps returning to is how he’s selective with his projects these days. As a young 70-year-old, Denzel wants to work on films, and perhaps more importantly with filmmakers who excite him, challenge, take him to places he’s never been before. And apparently, one of those new places will be Wakanda. While talking to an Australian network during a big press junket, Denzel revealed that “Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’”
Marvel Studios has not officially confirmed that a third film in the Black Panther franchise is in the works, but actor Denzel Washington on Tuesday indicated that there is, and that he will have a role.
Speaking to the Today show on Australia’s Channel 9 as part of a Gladiator II press junket, Washington said that director Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in the next Black Panther film.
When asked about his future plans, Washington said that “at this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.”
“I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70,” he continued. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.”
Black Panther has become one of the MCU’s signature franchises, with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan garnering not only critical acclaim but a massive box office haul, earning more than $1.3 billion.
Boseman died at age 43 in 2020.
The 2022 sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, functioned as a tribute to the late actor, and a way to continue the story of Wakanda and its people. It also launched to success at the box office.
I really liked both Black Panther movies. They were each so visually and musically sumptuous! Losing Chadwick Boseman was devastating — he was a lovely, honorable, empathic human. The impact of his death was obviously bigger than how it affected a movie, but I thought Coogler found a way to make Wakanda Forever a thinking, feeling piece on how we process grief. Was it a perfect film? No. But it was pretty impeccable what Coogler created after the tragedy of losing their hero.
All that being said, and bearing in mind that I’m not well-versed in the original comic book lore, I can’t imagine where Black Panther is headed for a third film! Or how Denzel will be fitting into that world. Based on his comments, I’m guessing Denzel wouldn’t settle for being anything other than a Wakandan himself, right? So who could he play — the late Queen Ramonda/Angela Bassett’s brother? M’Baku/Winston Duke’s father? Or maybe a leader from one of the five tribes that hasn’t been so prominent in the previous movies. So many possibilities! Also, who else but Denzel Washington could get away with casually breaking Marvel casting news? Was he supposed to share that with the world now? I think not! But what can they do — if we know anything about Denzel at this moment, it’s that he could easily plot the downfall of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Empire.
Photos credit: Jimmy James/Avalon, Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon, IMAGO/mpi099/MediaPunch/Avalon, Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Jerry Perez/Avalon