Marvel producer Nate Moore has insisted it’s “too early to say” whether Denzel Washington will be in the third ‘Black Panther’ movie.
The ‘Gladiator II’ star, 70, revealed last November that the superhero sub-series director Ryan Coogler, 38, had been writing him a role for the upcoming third flick, though producer Nate Moore has now stressed Marvel cannot confirm Washington’s involvement in the project because the studio hasn’t “had really substantive creative conversations” with the filmmaker about the movie yet.
Talking to Screen Rant about Washington’s potential casting in the third ‘Black Panther’ blockbuster, Moore said: “If that manifests, which we’re gonna try, I think it will probably be somebody from canon. Who that is, is early days.
“We honestly haven’t had really substantive creative conversations with Ryan, mostly because he’s finishing his film ‘Sinners’, which is gonna come out this year and is gonna be great.
“So again, it’s too early to say, but obviously if an actor of the caliber of Denzel Washington wants in, we’re gonna figure out a way to make that happen.”
Washington had spilled his potential involvement in the next ‘Black Panther’ film when he was laying out what his final projects would be before he retired from Hollywood.
He told Australia’s ‘Today’ show: “At this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.”
Sharing the roles he had lined up before he sunsetted his acting career, ‘The Equalizer’ star teased: “I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been 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 gonna do the film Othello. After that I’m gonna do King Lear. After that, I’m gonna retire.”
After spilling Coogler had been penning him a character in the third ‘Black Panther’ film, Washington said he had called the ‘Creed’ director to apologise to him.
During an appearance on Variety’s ‘Awards Circuit Podcast’, he said: “Ryan’s a genius. I called him and apologised for talking about the movie, and right there sitting with him was his beautiful wife.
“He’s still Ryan, humble and full of ideas. Whatever he writes, I’ll read.”
The third ‘Black Panther’ movie will follow on from 2022’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, and will likely see the return of Letitia Wright’s Shuri.
In 2023, the 31-year-old actress teased there was “a lot coming up” for her character – who took on the Black Panther mantle in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster.
During an appearance on ‘The View’, Wright said: “[Shuri is] one of my favourite characters. Such a blessing, honestly. I kid you not, I’m so grateful for her.”
