Industry star David Jonsson to play Black Panther in Marvel sequel

Director Ryan Coogler announces British actor in lead role alongside co-stars Letitia Wright and Winston Duke

The British actor David Jonsson has been unveiled as the new Black Panther by the film’s director, Ryan Coogler.

Jonsson, 32, known for roles in Industry, The Long Walk and Alien: Romulus, will play the son of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa in the third Black Panther movie.

He joined Coogler on stage at Marvel Studios’ Comic-Con International presentation to announce the news on Saturday, alongside co-stars Letitia Wright and Winston Duke.

Coogler, who won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his vampire film Sinners earlier this year, said: “The last time we got to make a movie, we introduced a character who is the son of the character that the great Chadwick Boseman played – our T’Challa – in that film.

“And today, I want to tell you that in this next film, he grows up, he comes of age.”

Born in London, Jonsson began his career in the West End. He made his screen debut in 2018 in two episodes of the British detective drama Endeavour before being cast as Augustus “Gus” Sackey in the first two series of Industry from 2020 to 2022.

He appeared in the 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s thriller The Long Walk and in the same year won the Bafta rising star award.

Jonsson, who also has roles in the upcoming films The Chaperones, Benn/Eubank and Scandalous, said: “Thank you to this family that I have the honour and the blessing to join. I don’t want to say too much, because I want to let the screen do the talking.”

Black Panther III will be released in US cinemas on 15 December 2028. A UK release date yet to be confirmed.

Boseman died in 2020 aged 43, four years after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, released in 2022, revealed that Boseman’s character, T’Challa, had a son. It followed Wright’s character, Shuri, as she takes on the role of the protagonist after the death of T’Challa.

The first film, released in 2018, was set in the mythical country of Wakanda, a hidden African kingdom with innovative technology thanks to its reserves of the world’s most useful precious metal. It won three Oscars.

Coogler, who directed the first two Black Panther movies, also co-produced the 2025 series Ironheart and Eyes of Wakanda.