David Jonsson is the new Black Panther in Disney’s Black Panther 3
Marvel announced David Jonsson as the star of Black Panther 3 at San Diego Comic-Con, out December 15, 2028. He’s not recasting Chadwick Boseman. He’s playing T’Challa’s grown son, taking up the mantle as the next generation of Wakanda.
Wakanda has a new king, and a new face to carry it.
At Marvel Studios‘ Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, director Ryan Coogler took the stage and announced David Jonsson as the star of Black Panther 3. The movie hits theaters December 15, 2028.
The room roared. Then Jonsson stepped up to the mic and kept it short and gracious. “Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and the privilege and the blessing to join,” he said, per NBC News.
David Jonsson is playing T’Challa’s son, not recasting Chadwick Boseman
This is the part that matters most, and it’s the respectful part.
Jonsson isn’t stepping into Chadwick Boseman‘s role. He’s playing Prince T’Challa II, the son of Boseman’s T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o‘s Nakia. Fans met him as a young boy in the final moments of 2022‘s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The third film ages him up and follows him coming of age, with his sights set on Wakanda’s throne. So this is a passing of the torch to the next generation, not a replacement of the man who originated it.
That distinction has always mattered to this franchise. When Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020, Marvel and Coogler chose not to recast T’Challa at all, writing his death into Wakanda Forever instead. Introducing a son, and now giving that son his own movie, lets the story move forward without pretending Boseman’s T’Challa can be swapped out.
Who is David Jonsson
The British actor broke out with roles in Alien: Romulus and the Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, the latter earning him some of the best reviews of his career. TV audiences know him as Gus Sackey from the first two seasons of HBO’s Industry.
Who else is returning for Black Panther 3
Coogler isn’t doing this alone, and neither is Jonsson.
Ryan Coogler returns to direct, fresh off his Oscar win for writing Sinners. Letitia Wright is back as Shuri, who took up the Black Panther mantle herself in Wakanda Forever, and Winston Duke returns as M’Baku.
There’s a heavy hitter joining, too. Denzel Washington is set for the third film, after Washington himself revealed last year that Coogler had written a role specifically for him.
Exactly how Jonsson’s prince and Wright’s Shuri share the Black Panther identity hasn’t been explained yet. Shuri wears the suit at the end of the last movie, and the new one seems to be setting up the prince to take it. Marvel’s keeping the how under wraps.
Black Panther is one of Disney’s biggest franchises
The stakes here are big, and the numbers say why.
The original 2018 Black Panther was a global phenomenon, earning $1.3 billion worldwide. It became the first superhero movie ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and it won three Academy Awards. Marvel is owned by Disney, so this is one of the crown jewels of the whole Disney movie machine.
Handing that to a relative newcomer is a real bet. But it’s the same bet Marvel made on Boseman once, and on Coogler, who was a little-known indie director when he got the first film.
Black Panther 3 lands in December 2028. Jonsson has some time to get ready for the weight of that mask. Judging by how he handled a Hall H full of screaming fans, he’ll be fine.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Variety (July 25, 2026), the Comic-Con announcement, the December 15, 2028 release date, the T’Challa II character details, and the returning cast
The Hollywood Reporter (July 25, 2026), the Feige/Coogler reveal and Jonsson’s breakout-role background
NBC News (July 26, 2026), Jonsson’s onstage quote and the passing-of-the-torch framing
Essence (July 25, 2026), the full returning cast, Denzel Washington’s involvement, and the original film’s box office and Oscar history
Deadline (July 25, 2026), the Prince T’Challa II / Toussaint character detail and the large-format celluloid production note