Last month, one of the greatest actors in living memory revealed that they would be starring in an upcoming MCU sequel.
This probably came as a surprise to both Disney and the film’s director, considering they’d yet to announce said film’s existence at the time.
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The actor in question was Denzel Washington, who rather unexpectedly stated in an interview with the Today Show that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler was "writing a part for” the legendary actor “in the next Black Panther."
Considering the offhanded nature of Denzel’s comment, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we missed a Black Panther 3 announcement somewhere down the line.
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But nope, it was very much supposed to be insider knowledge - at least according to comments he made in a more recent interview.
During his interview with Variety’s Clayton Davis, Denzel Washington explained that he was so mortified about the slip-up that he actually called Coogler directly to apologise.
“Ryan’s a genius… I called him and apologised for talking about the movie,” Denzel stated, “and right there sitting with him was his beautiful wife. He’s still Ryan, humble and full of ideas. Whatever he writes, I’ll read.”
Sounds like Denzel is still extremely excited to be a part of things however, given his comments about the more nuanced roles black actors can take on in modern films.
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“When I started, there weren’t great roles for us…. You were the guy who said, ‘We shouldn’t go in there,’ and then the hero saves the day while you’re waving from the sidelines.”
Personally, I’m not confident enough to theorise what kind of role Denzel Washington might end up taking on in Black Panther 3, but I think it’s fair to say he’ll definitely smash it.
No word on when we might see the third entry in the Black Panther films yet, but hopefully Disney will announce something regarding the upcoming project soon.