Ryan Coogler Says He Wrote Denzel Washington a ‘Black Panther 3’ Role

Ryan Coogler is ready to work with one of his heroes: Denzel Washington. The director said during the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast (in the below video) that Washington will in fact be part of “Black Panther 3,” should that movie ever happen. Washington previously let it slip in November 2024 that Coogler wrote a role for him; however, the third MCU franchise film has still not been formally announced by Marvel.

Coogler told NBA legend Carmelo Anthony that he has been trying to work with Washington “since day one.”

“There’s no fiction out there,” Coogler said of Washington sharing the “Black Panther 3” news. “Denzel is family at this point…I’ve been trying to work with him since day one. I think he’s the greatest living actor, and in terms of what he means to our culture, forget about it. I’ve been talking to him about this to him for a long time.”

Coogler said there’s a lot of false stuff out there, especially about Coogler himself and his work, to the point that he doesn’t read Wikipedia anymore. But what Washington said was truthful, and yet Coogler was still “surprised” that Washington went public with the news, even well before anything is set in stone: “I was surprised that when he mentioned it [‘Black Panther 3’], but it’s not like it’s not true,” he said.

Washington had said on Australian “Today” (via Variety) in 2024 that Coogler was “writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther,’” which would be one of his last roles. “After that, I’m going to do the film ‘Othello.’ After that, I’m going to do King Lear. After that, I’m going to retire,” Washington said at the time. “For me, it’s about the filmmakers. Especially at this point in my career, I am only interested in working with the best. I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. It’s probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done.”

Washington is next starring in “Highest 2 Lowest,” which reunites him with Coogler’s mentor and advocate Spike Lee. “I’m so hyped for this. That trailer — the monologue Denzel doing…he’s in rare form. I just can’t put no words to how excited I am, man, because when [Lee] and Denzel get together, it’s always a masterpiece,” Coogler said during the podcast.

Coogler also reflected on showing Lee “Sinners.”

“For me to give Spike a cinematic experience. I’m just paying him back with interest, bro. It meant the world to me to hear him say that. I cried, bro — I had to hide my — he was jumping around like — I was wiping tears out of my eyes, bro,” Coogler said. “I’m sitting in the IMAX theater showing Spike Lee the movie. He likes it?”

Just don’t expect Washington or Lee to have any cameos in the “Sinners” cinematic universe: Coogler already said there most likely won’t be a sequel to “Sinners.”

“I wanted the movie to feel like a full meal: your appetizers, starters, entrees, and desserts, I wanted all of it there. I wanted it to be a holistic and finished thing,” Coogler told Ebony Magazine. “That was how I was asked all about it. That was always my intention.”