Denzel Washington shared he is in talks to star in the next Black Panther movie, as well as a few other films and plays, before retiring from his decades-long career as a movie and Broadway actor.
Denzel Washington is gearing up for a trip to Wakanda.
The two-time Oscar winner recently shared his plans to leave acting behind, but not before he works on a few exciting new projects.
“I played Othello at 22, I’m about to play Othello at 70,” Denzel told Australia’s Today morning show in an interview published Nov. 11. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film.”
And the 69-year-old is also in discussions with Ryan Coogler—the writer and director behind Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever—to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“After that, [Ryan] is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther,” Denzel continued. “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 third installment of the Black Panther franchise—which originally starred Chadwick Boseman before his death in 2020—has not been confirmed by Marvel, the Training Day actor noted that the project and its director would meet his specific requirements for
“It’s about the filmmaker, especially at this point in my career,” he shared. “I’m only interested in working with the best. I don’t know how many more films I’m gonna make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.”
As for whether Denzel feels that his upcoming film Gladiator II—releasing opposite Wicked on Nov. 22, prompting comparisons to 2023’s Barbenheimer mania—and its director Ridley Scott meet that threshold? It was a no-brainer.
“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley,” he told Empire in August. “We had a great go-round the first go-round [on 2007’s American Gangster], and here we are.”
And Denzel also praised the Thelma & Louise director for his eager spirit.
“He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film,” he said. “He’s an inspiration. We should all want to feel like that at 86.”
While Denzel still has many movies in the works before he retires/
