It’s safe to say that we’ve reached a point where very few surprises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are left to chance. Rather than walking into a movie cold and erupting in shock at an actor making a surprise appearance, fan events like Disney’s D23 convention give the game away years in advance by tantalizing prospective moviegoers with the promise of every pop culture Hollywood actor they could get their hands on appearing in the next year of films. In a surprising return to form, acting legend Denzel Washington revealed his next phase of film roles and casually let it slip that he’ll soon be Marvel-bound in the next installment of Black Panther.
In a recent appearance on the Today Show Australia in promotion for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, Washington revealed that he’s not felt any pressure starring in the sequel film regardless of its predecessor winning many awards. Much like fellow actor Harrison Ford’s artistic reasoning for joining the MCU as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, Washington said he only cares about doing good work with great creators.
Somewhere down the line, Washington acknowledged that he doesn’t have many more movies left to give, but before he calls it a career, he’s planning on doing things he’s never done before. One creator Washington mentioned he’d be working with soon is director Ryan Coogler in the third installment of the Black Panther series.
“For me it’s about the filmmaker, especially at this point in my career. I’m only interested in working with the best. I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. It’s probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done,” Washington told Today
He continued: “I played Othello at 22, I’m about to play Othello at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’m talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I’m going to do the film Othello. After that, I’m going to do King Lear. After that, I’m going to retire.”
Washington’s involvement with Black Panther is notable because of his name recognition and his mentorship with the late great Chadwick Boseman. In fact, Boseman honored Washington at the 2019 AFI Awards, saying there wouldn’t have been a Black Panther without Washington.
Seeing how Washington had a bunch of “after that’s” in his retirement game plan, we’re still a ways off before the multi-hyphen award-winning actor graces the silver screen for a Marvel film. This gives fans plenty of time to theory-craft which comic book character in Black Panther‘s mythos Washington will bring to life. Let us know in the comments below who you think Washington would be perfect for.
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