‘Black Panther 3’ producer denies online casting rumors: ‘None of that’s true’

A lot of chatter has been swirling around Black Panther 3 lately. Denzel Washington let slip that writer-director Ryan Coogler is currently writing him a role for the third entry in the superhero series, while a recent report asserted that Marvel is considering recasting the role of T’Challa, which was indelibly played by the late Chadwick Boseman.

Now Nate Moore, a producer on the upcoming movie, is attempting to cut through the noise.

“It is, honestly, so early,” Moore tells Entertainment Weekly in an interview pegged to the release of Captain America: Brave New World. “We’ve had a couple of conversations with Ryan Coogler, our filmmaker who’s coming back, but he’s finishing up his film.”

Coogler is currently putting the final touches on Sinners, a vampire horror film set during the Prohibition era and starring his longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan.

“We are still figuring out again exactly what [the next] Avengers is going to be, so we haven’t had any real story conversations,” Moore continues. “I know there’s been a lot of chatter online about casting and villains. None of that’s true. We just haven’t gotten there yet, to be honest, but I am very excited to start those conversations hopefully this year.”

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Asked specifically about the report of recasting T’Challa, Moore tells EW, “We don’t know what the story is, so I couldn’t tell you whether or not we’re open to recasting. It certainly wasn’t our instinct for Wakanda Forever. I’ll never say never to anything, but it’s too early to talk about any of that stuff. We have to figure out what the story’s going to be.”

In a separate conversation with ComicBook.com published Monday, Moore said more definitively, “The truth is, there’s no truth to those rumors.”

Boseman first appeared as T’Challa, the Black Panther warrior of Wakanda, in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He went on to headline his own Black Panther movie, but after the actor’s tragic death from colon cancer at 43, a new Panther was crowned. Letitia Wright, who plays T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, picked up the mantle in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which also introduced the son of T’Challa as a potential successor.

“There’s a lot coming up,” Wright previously teased of her character’s return to the MCU.

As for Washington’s self-proclaimed role in Black Panther 3, Moore tells EW, “When we saw that story, I know Ryan was like, ‘Well, what is he saying?’ We should be so lucky to have Denzel in the MCU. But until we figure out what that movie is, again, nothing is guaranteed. But if you’re asking me would I love to have Denzel in Black Panther 3, obviously that guy, he is a legend.”