Denzel Washington says he'll join Black Panther 3, years after Chadwick Boseman's moving tribute speech

In a tribute speech to his Oscar-winning mentor and benefactor, the late Chadwick Boseman declared, "There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington." Years later, Washington says he's now joining Black Panther 3.

Australia's Today show released their video package on Gladiator II, for which they spoke with Washington, who plays Macrinus, a former slave who plots to overthrow the current emperors of Rome. Towards the end of the segment, the actor mentions what else he's working on in the future.

"I don't know how many more films I'm gonna make, probably not that many. I want to do things I haven't done. I played Othello at 22. I am about to play Othello at 70,” he said, referring to 2025 Broadway rendition with costar Jake Gyllenhaal. “After that, I am playing Hannibal," he continued. (Washington will star in Antoine Fuqua's Netflix film about the ancient Carthaginian general.) "After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler's writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I’m gonna do the film Othello. After that, I’m gonna do King Lear. After that, I’m gonna retire."

Coogler directed 2018's Black Panther, which starred Boseman, who died in 2020 at the age of 43 after a quiet battle with colon cancer, as the titular Marvel hero. The filmmaker then returned for 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which saw Letitia Wright, the sister of Boseman's T'Challa, assume the mantle of Wakanda's protector.

In 2019, the American Film Institute awarded Washington their Life Achievement Award. Boseman came out on stage to pay tribute and present the honor to Washington. He revealed during that speech that the star of Glory and Training Day was one silent benefactor who helped fund nine theater students from Howard University in attending a summer program in Oxford. Boseman was one of those students.

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"There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington," Boseman said. "And not just because of me, but my whole cast, that generation stands on your shoulders. The daily battles won, the thousand territories gained, the many sacrifices you made for the culture on film sets through your career, the things you refused to compromise along the way laid the blueprints for us to follow. And so now, let he who has watered, be watered. Let he who has given be given to."

Marvel Studios has not officially announced a third Black Panther movie, though seven untitled Marvel films are scheduled on the Disney calendar between 2026 and 2028. In the more immediate future, Disney+ will release the animated Eyes of Wakanda series on Aug. 6, 2025 to expand the world of Black Panther's home nation.

Watch Washington's remarks in the video above, starting at the 3:33 mark.

Correction: An earlier draft of this article misquoted Chadwick Boseman's speech from the 2019 AFI Awards ceremony. The story has since been updated.