SAN DIEGO (AP) — David Jonsson is the new Black Panther — the son of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa — director Ryan Coogler told cheering fans Saturday at Marvel Studios' Comic-Con International presentation.
Jonsson joined the Oscar-winning director on stage alongside Letitia Wright and Winston Duke, holding his hand to his chest and smiling broadly. “Black Panther III” is set for release in December 2028.
“Thank you to this family that I have the honor
and the blessing to join. I don’t want to say too much, because I want to let the screen do the talking,” said the 32-year-old actor, known for roles in “Industry,” “The Long Walk” and “Alien: Romulus.”
Boseman died in 2020, and ever since 2022's “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” revealed that T’Challa had a son, fans have been playing the guessing game of who might take over the mantle.
Ryan Gosling will also be joining the Marvel cinematic universe as Ghost Rider, re-teaming with his “Star Wars: Starfighter” director Shawn Levy on a film set for release in 2028.
Gosling greeted Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige and told the crowd that he'd wanted to play the character for a long time.
Gosling's longtime partner, Eva Mendes, starred alongside Nicolas Cage in Cage's original standalone “Ghost Rider” film, released in 2007 — a year before “Iron Man” kicked off Marvel's cinematic universe. A sequel was released by Sony in 2012, and film rights have since reverted to Marvel, but the character hasn't appeared yet in the MCU.
Feige announced that Joe and Anthony Russo's 2019 film “Avengers: Endgame” will be rereleased in theaters Sept. 25 with new footage linking it to the Russos' “Avengers: Doomsday,” due out Dec. 18.
Many fans waited more than a day to get inside Comic-Con's most-anticipated panel, which featured appearances from “Doomsday” stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.
