‘Black Panther 3’: David Jonsson to Star as T’Challa’s Son, Sequel Set for 2028

Black Panther 3 is ready to claw its way into theaters.

Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler announced during Marvel Studios‘ panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday that the sequel feature will film on 70mm and hit theaters Dec. 15, 2028. The duo also revealed that David Jonsson is set to star as the new Black Panther, playing an adult version of the son of T’Challa, portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 original.

Jonsson is a recent Hollywood breakout, with key roles in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended with the revelation that the late Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa had a young son with Lupita Nyong’o Nakia. Given that this is Marvel, it’s possible some sort of time jump or other factors are involved to age him up for the sequel. The film also will come after Avengers: Secret Wars, likely will affect the larger MCU.

The Black Panther film franchise kicked off with the 2018 title, starring Boseman as T’Challa. With a cast that included Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett, the film was a smash hit, collecting $1.3 billion at the global box office and becoming the first superhero feature to land an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

Boseman was set to reprise his lead role in a planned sequel before his death in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. The follow-up film’s focus shifted to Wright’s character, Shuri, taking up the mantle of Black Panther following the death of brother T’Challa. The sequel, Wakanda Forever, hit theaters in 2022 and surpassed $850 million at the worldwide box office. It won an Oscar from five nominations, with Bassett becoming the first performer nominated for an Academy Award for a performance in a Marvel movie.

Among the highlights of this year’s Marvel panel at SDCC included Ryan Gosling taking the stage to reveal his role as Ghost Rider in a forthcoming feature from Shawn Levy, his director for next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter.