Ryan Coogler crowns David Jonsson as Black Panther for 2028, ending MCU’s T’Challa question
Just announced in Hall H:
Ryan Coogler returns to Marvel Studios to direct Black Panther 3, only in theaters December 15, 2028. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/j8XZoLd4s2
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 26, 2026
David Jonsson is your new Black Panther.
Black Panther 3, directed by Ryan Coogler, arrives in theaters December 15, 2028. pic.twitter.com/JILHDOelQE
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 26, 2026
Ryan Coogler announced at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday that the Black Panther crown—one of cinema’s most loaded mantles—has a new wearer: David Jonsson, most known for his roles in Stephen King’s “The Long Walk,” “Alien: Romulus” and as Gus Sackey in the first two seasons of “Industry.” Jonsson will play T’Challa’s son in “Black Panther 3,” which will be out on Dec. 15, 2028. It’s the answer the MCU has been dodging since Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020—a gut punch that left the franchise’s most culturally resonant character in limbo.
Here’s the context that matters. The first “Black Panther” in 2018 grossed $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office and earned seven Oscar nominations, including best picture. That wasn’t just blockbuster success—that was a cultural seismic event. Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa/Black Panther in the groundbreaking film Black Panther (2018) cemented his status as a movie star and made news as the first big-budget movie with an almost all-Black cast. When Boseman passed six years ago, while Coogler was returning to direct the third movie in the series, the fandom fractured. Marvel made the call in 2020 not to recast the character—a respectful move that left some fans feeling like the story had ended instead of evolved.
Wakanda Forever (2022) took the controversial route: Director Ryan Coogler will return for the third film, as well as Leticia Wright reprising her role as Shuri and Winston Duke as M’Baku, and Letitia Wright is returning as Shuri, who took over as the Black Panther in Wakanda Forever, and David Jonsson has joined the cast as T’Challa’s son, who is also named T’Challa and was seen as a young boy at the end of the second film with his aunt Shuri and mother Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o). The move satisfied some—a generational passing of the torch, let Shuri have her moment—but left the question hanging: what about the kid? What about T’Challa’s son?
Now Coogler’s answering it. And it’s a bold call.
Jonsson’s a London-raised actor who’s built real momentum in the last few years. Industry heads know him from the HBO drama. The broader culture caught him in Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus. But what made Coogler move? Coogler revealed that he wanted to cast Jonsson after seeing his performance in “The Long Walk.” That’s a Stephen King adaptation where Jonsson played opposite Cooper Hoffman—a grind-it-out, existential endurance story. It’s the kind of role that tells you whether an actor can carry weight. Jonsson said onstage after Coogler shared the news, “Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and the privilege and the blessing to join.” No messy ego, no over-promise. Just respect for the assignment.
The broader Marvel play here matters. Ryan Coogler, hot off his Oscar win for Sinners, will be back to helm to close out the trilogy he kicked off in 2018 with the late Chadwick Boseman. Coogler didn’t just direct the first two films—he shaped Wakanda’s DNA. He’s not handing the keys to some hired gun. He’s staying in the chair, which means this isn’t a cash grab or a legacy dilution. This is a director who loved Boseman’s work and believes there’s still a story to tell in Wakanda.
There’s also the technical flex: BP3 will be shot entirely on larger format celluloid film — a first for the MCU. That’s not an accident. Coogler’s saying: this movie’s not a streaming-service afterthought. This is cinema. IMAX-caliber spectacle for the king of Wakanda—T’Challa II.
The move also sidesteps the recasting landmine entirely. Jonsson isn’t replacing Boseman. He’s playing the son—a character already established in the MCU canon. The film will follow Jonsson’s character, Prince T’Challa II, as he comes of age after he was introduced as a child in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” It’s generational succession, not recasting. It honors the OG while moving forward. That matters for the culture.
Marvel have sat on this casting for six months, finally announcing David Jonsson as T’Challa is Black Panther III. It’s been a long wait to know what happens next in Wakanda. Now we know. A new king rises in 2028—not Boseman’s T’Challa reborn, but his heir stepping into the light.
The 16BARS take: Marvel just solved its biggest post-Boseman problem by leaning into legacy instead of resurrection. Wright said she was delighted by Jonsson’s casting. “The news was really beautiful to hear because I have a personal connection to David,” she told Entertainment Weekly. When the outgoing Black Panther cosigns the next one—and when Coogler’s still in the director’s chair shooting on celluloid—that’s not a reboot. That’s the culture staying alive.
