Denzel Washington apologized to director Ryan Coogler for spilling he had joined the third ‘Black Panther’ movie. The revelation comes as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand its star-studded roster, with the franchise having grossed over $29 billion worldwide.
The 69-year-old actor revealed he would be part of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster last month in what will be one of his final projects before he retires, and now Washington has admitted he called the ‘Creed’ filmmaker, 38, to say he was sorry for talking about his involvement in the flick before it was officially confirmed. The MCU is known for its strict secrecy protocols regarding upcoming projects.
“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 said during an appearance on Variety’s ‘Awards Circuit Podcast’. “He’s still Ryan, humble and full of ideas. Whatever he writes, I’ll read.” Coogler’s previous films have collectively earned over $1.8 billion at the global box office.
The film will follow on from 2022’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ – which itself is a sequel to ‘Black Panther’ from 2018 – and Washington said last month that the upcoming movie would be one of a handful of roles he would take on before he ends an acting career which has spanned four decades. The first two Black Panther films have combined earnings of over $2.2 billion worldwide.
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.” Washington’s career includes two Academy Awards and over $4 billion in box office revenue.
Sharing the roles he has lined up before waving goodbye to Hollywood for good, he 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.”
While the ‘Gladiator II’ star has laid out his plans for his final projects, Washington previously revealed he would be involved in the fourth and fifth entries in his action series ‘The Equalizer’. The franchise has already generated over $750 million globally.
“I told them I would do another ‘Equalizer’, and we’re doing four and five. More people are happy about that — people love those daggone [God damn] Equalizers,” he said speaking with Esquire magazine last month. The previous Equalizer films have consistently performed well at the box office.
The ‘Training Day’ star added the franchise was as much for audiences as it was for him, because he loved getting the chance to be an action hero. Washington’s action films have consistently drawn strong audiences, with his movies in this genre averaging $100 million in domestic earnings.
“But I’ve come to realise that the ‘Equalizer’ films are for me, too, because they’re for the people. They want me to go get the bad guys: ‘We can’t get them, so you go get them.’ And I say, ‘Okay, I’ll get them! Just wait right there. I’ll be right back!'”
The announcement of Washington joining Black Panther 3 has sparked widespread excitement among fans and industry insiders alike. The actor’s involvement follows Marvel’s successful strategy of incorporating established Hollywood legends into their universe, similar to the casting of Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Michelle Pfeiffer in Ant-Man and the Wasp. This approach has consistently helped bridge the gap between traditional cinema audiences and comic book movie fans.
