Announcement at Comic-Con
Marvel Studios announced at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday that British actor David Jonsson has been cast as the adult son of T'Challa in the third Black Panther film. Director Ryan Coogler introduced Jonsson on stage alongside returning stars Letitia Wright and Winston Duke. The film, titled Black Panther 3, is scheduled for release on December 15, 2028, and will be shot in 70mm.[S1][S2][S4][S5][S6]
Coogler revealed that Jonsson will play Prince T'Challa II, the son of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa and Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, who was introduced in the post-credits scene of Wakanda Forever. Jonsson, visibly emotional, thanked the audience and said, 'The honour is entirely mine.' Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, expressed delight at the casting. Denzel Washington has also been confirmed to appear in the film.[S1][S2][S4][S6]
Jonsson's Career and Background
Born in London on September 4, 1993, Jonsson is the youngest of four children. His father worked as an IT engineer at Heathrow Airport, and his mother worked for the Metropolitan Police. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2016, and began his career on the West End stage. He made his screen debut in 2018 in two episodes of the detective drama Endeavour before landing his breakout role as Augustus 'Gus' Sackey in the HBO series Industry, which aired from 2020 to 2022.[S1][S2][S3]
He then starred in the 2023 romantic comedy Rye Lane, which premiered at Sundance and earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination. He played Andy, a synthetic android, in the sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus, a role that won him the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2025. Jonsson also took a facehugger prop to the eye during filming, suffering a detached retina. His performance in The Long Walk, a Stephen King adaptation, impressed director Ryan Coogler and contributed to his casting as Black Panther.[S1][S2][S3][S4]
Jonsson has also earned a Black British Theatre Award in 2022 for his stage work and a Robert Altman Award in 2026. His upcoming projects include playing Sammy Davis Jr. in Scandalous!, roles in the films Chaperones, and a secretive project by Frank Ocean. He is also set to return for the sequel to Alien: Romulus. Additionally, he will star in the prison drama Wasteman, which he also produced, and will reunite with Cooper Hoffman and Paul Dano in the film Chaperones.[S2][S3]
The Black Panther Legacy and Future
The Black Panther franchise began with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, which earned $1.3 billion worldwide and became the first superhero movie nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. After Boseman's death from colon cancer in 2020, the sequel Wakanda Forever was released in 2022, grossing over $850 million and winning an Oscar. Letitia Wright's Shuri took on the mantle of Black Panther in that film, which introduced T'Challa's son in a post-credits scene.[S1][S6]
Black Panther 3 will be released after next year's Avengers: Secret Wars, potentially setting up the character's evolution within the larger MCU. The film is part of a slate of upcoming Marvel projects that include the previously announced Ironheart and Eyes of Wakanda series. Marvel's Comic-Con panel also revealed that Ryan Gosling will star as Ghost Rider in a standalone film directed by Shawn Levy.[S1][S3][S6]
