Ryan Coogler hand-picked David Jonsson to carry the Black Panther mantle — and his body of work makes it clear why.
This past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, Ryan Cooglerconfirmed that British actor David Jonsson will take on the mantle of Prince T’Challa II in Black Panther 3, arriving in theaters on December 15, 2028. Let me explain why Jonsson is the perfect choice for the next Black Panther.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently confirmed that Coogler reached out about Jonsson six months ago, right before the studio was officially set to begin its search. Coogler and Jonsson had a secret dinner, and Coogler felt a connection immediately: “He’s the guy. I felt it in my soul.”
The elephant in the room here is that a lot of people thought Damson Idris was going to be cast in this role. There was also leaked concept art from Avengers: Doomsday showing a new Black Panther that some people thought looked like Damson. Personally, I don’t think that looked like Damson…but I digress.
David Jonsson is the right actor for this role because he has the emotional depth to carry the weight of what T’Challa II represents. This character is not a blank slate—he is the son of Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, introduced in the post-credits scene of Wakanda Forever as a child named Toussaint. Whoever steps into that suit inherits not only the fictional legacy of Wakanda but the real-world gravity of Boseman’s irreplaceable performance. That is an enormous ask, and it demands an actor with genuine range.
Jonsson did an amazing job in Alien: Romulus as the synthetic Andy—a performance that earned him the 2025 BAFTA Rising Star Award and proved he could anchor a major franchise film. But the real required watching—the film you need to see to truly understand Jonsson’s bag—is Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk. The Stephen King adaptation is heavy, and Jonsson excels at displaying a wide range of emotions in that film.
His broader body of work only reinforces the case. From his breakout role as Gus Sackey in HBO’s Industry to his turn in Rye Lane, he has shown the ability to disappear into characters across a wide range of worlds. He’s 32, but he’s pulled off playing younger before — and that matters, given that Prince T’Challa II is expected to be in his late teens or early twenties in the film.
Black Panther 3 will be his biggest look yet, and with Denzel Washington already confirmed for the film, the pieces are in place for something special. I’m all in. If Coogler trusts him, I do, too.
