Black Panther 3: how Ryan Coogler found his new T’Challa… 6 months ago!

Just after the release of Sinners, the director met David Jonsson and immediately saw in him the heir to Chadwick Boseman.

The announcement of David Jonsson as the new Black Panther surprised everyone at San Diego Comic-Con. But behind the scenes, Ryan Coogler kept the secret for more than six months!

In an interview given to EmpireKevin Feige returned to the casting of the actorAlien: Romulus And Walk or diewho will play T’Challa II, the son of King T’Challa, in Black Panther 3.

“We hadn’t even started the research yet.“, says the president of Marvel Studios. “Ryan was completely focused on Sinners. The idea was to sit down with him after the film came out and the Oscar campaign to start looking for our new Black Panther.”

But plans changed faster than expected.

“About a month and a half before this meeting, Ryan called me and said, ‘I found it.’ I asked him: ‘What do you mean?’ He replied: ‘I found it. It’s this guy, David Jonsson.”

Feige explains that he then rewatched several of the actor’s films, while Ryan Coogler organized an ultra-confidential meeting with him:

“He went to meet him secretly, under cover of night, in a hotel somewhere. Then he called me back right after and said: ‘It’s him. It’s him. I felt it. I felt it deep in my soul. He’s a good man, and he’s the next Black Panther. I got chills. I almost had tears in my eyes. I just said, ‘Let’s do it.’ We’ve been keeping this secret for five or six months…“

In Black Panther 3the young actor will therefore play T’Challa II, seen as a child at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film will follow his ascension to the role of Black Panther, with the return of Letitia Wright (Shuri) and Winston Duke (M’Baku).

Directed once again by Coogler, Black Panther 3 is expected in cinemas on December 15, 2028.