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Denzel Washington is set to join the cast of Black Panther 3, becoming the latest Hollywood veteran to jump on board the MCU Express (yes, that was an Unstoppable joke).
Washington dropped the news rather casually while appearing on Australia’s Today program, telling the presenter that Ryan Coogler’s “writing a part for [him]” in the next Black Panther movie.
Unsurprisingly, considering Washington’s general awesomeness, people are very excited about the star’s trip to Wakanda. However, the vibranium-armored rhinoceros in the room is the question of who he might play in the upcoming Marvel movie.
Well, you don’t have to scour the web like Ultron to learn Washington’s secrets; the answer is pretty obvious. Or, it is to me, at least.
Marvelous
I bet my comic book collection (complete with Ultiumarte Spider-Man #1) that Washington is playing the one and only Blue Marvel, aka Adam Bernard Brashear. What makes me so confident that’s who Coogler is writing for Denzel? Well, who else could he play?
In all seriousness, if you get an actor of Washington’s caliber, you don’t want to waste them on some throwaway part. You want them to have a nice, meaty role, and I imagine actors (who’ve been known to be a bit vain) like to play powerful characters.
Well, there are few Marvel characters as powerful or important as Blue Marvel. Yes, he’s not exactly a household name (but neither was Scarlet Witch before the MCU made her a dazzling red star), but within the pages of Marvel comics, he’s kind of an enormous deal.
Man on Fire
Paramount PicturesDenzel Washington in Gladiator 2
In the real world, Blue Marvel is celebrated not only for his popularity among fans but also for his role in enhancing diversity and representation within the Marvel Universe. That feels like something that would appeal to Washington.
Moreover, in the fictional world, ‘The Blue Bomber of Battle’ is basically a Superman knockoff (he was once rather dismissively described as “the Black Superman”) but is far more powerful. He comes with the standard superhero toolkit (super–strength, flight, speed, invulnerability, etc) and the ability to manipulate matter itself… sort of like a God.
Not only that, but he’s also one of the smartest characters in the Marvel Universe and regularly helps other mega geniuses like Tony Stark and Reed Richards with their experiments.
But why would this character appear in a Black Panther movie, I hear you ask? Well, Blue Marvel’s actually got form for turning up in Wakanda.
Specifically, he visited T’Challa to chew him out for conspiring with the Illuminati to stop the Incursions (remember them from Doctor Strange 2?) by destroying other dimensions. Marvel believed that if he had been consulted, he could have helped the Illuminati come up with a more humane solution.
So we know Marvel Studios is building to Secret Wars. We know they’ve mentioned Incursions. We know they’re writing a part for Denzel, an actor who’d be the perfect fit for Blue Marvel.
It’s possible we’re taking 1+1 and getting 3, but everything seems to be falling that way. Plus, we know Marvel fans have wanted to see Blue Marvel join the MCU since he was rumored to appear in WandaVision. (Remember those throwaway lines for The Engineer?)
Honestly, I could be wrong about this (My editor made me write that to seem modest), and there are plenty of other roles that would be a great fit for Denzel, but honestly, we’ve all seen him soar as an actor, wouldn’t it be cool to see him fly?
If you love the MCU and want to know what’s next, then check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies. We’ve also got articles breaking down everything you need to know about Captain America 4, Thunderbolts, and Fantastic Four. Plus, we’ve got a list of the best superhero movies ever made! Excelsior!
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