Hot off the heels of Gladiator 2, Denzel Washington apparently has a lot on his plate, including a Marvel sequel that hasn’t even been announced yet
Probably wasn't meant to mention that, but when you're Denzel Washington, you can do as you like.
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Denzel Washington might only be wrapping things up with Gladiator 2 now, but he has a long list of projects on his hands, apparently including Black Panther 3.
Right now Washington is on the press circuit for Gladiator 2, which is generally reviewing quite well, especially considering it's a sequel to a film that came out more than two decades ago. As part of that press circuit, the actor made an appearance on Australia's Today show, where he spoke about the upcoming follow-up, in particular about what's next for him especially considering he's entering his 70s soon. When asked if he felt any pressure considering how successful the original Gladiator was, Washington responded, "No, no, for me it's about the filmmaker, especially at this point in my career. I'm only interested in working with the best.
"I don't know how many more films I'm gonna make, probably not that many," the actor continued. "I want to do things I haven't done. I played Othello at 22, I'm about to play Othello at 70. 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. After that I'm gonna do the film Othello. After that I'm gonna do King Lear. After that I’m gonna retire."
That's a lengthy list of projects considering how long it takes to make films, even just to get them started, but most notably there for Marvel films is the mention of another Black Panther film. As of right now, Black Panther 3 hasn't been officially confirmed, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star (and the new incarnation of the character) Letitia Wright shared last year that she believed it was already in the works.
It'll likely still be a while before that gets officially announced, and even if Washington dropped it quite casually, there's no reason for him to be lying about it, so it seems we'll be seeing him enter the MCU soon enough - start placing your bets as to who you think he'll be playing.
Of course, there's also that solo Black Panther game from EA that's on the way, and the character is also set to appear in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra alongside Captain America, so there's plenty of opportunities to hang out with the beloved character coming up.