What to know about David Jonsson, Marvel's new Black Panther
David Jonsson is Marvel's new Black Panther.
At San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, Marvel Studios wrapped up another memorable Hall H presentation with the announcement of "Black Panther 3," as well as the newest name taking on the mantle of the Black Panther.
Academy Award-winning director Ryan Coogler, who directed the first two "Black Panther" films, took the stage for the announcement along with Letitia Wright and Winston Duke, who play Shuri and M'Baku, respectively, in the film franchise, and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
"We have a little bit of news for you guys. It's early days, we hard at work, but our film has a date," Coogler said onstage, before revealing the film's release date, Dec. 15, 2028.
Coogler then revealed the movie would be shot on "large format" celluloid film before introducing Jonsson, who will play Toussaint, the son of T'Challa, the late king of Wakanda, portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in the first "Black Panther" film.
Boseman died in August 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. Wright's character, Shuri, King T'Challa's sister, picked up the Black Panther mantle in the second film, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
Toussaint was first introduced as a child in a post-credits scene in "Wakanda Forever," which was released in November 2022.
After Coogler's Hall H announcement on Saturday, Jonsson took the stage to loud applause.
"I want to say thank you so much," he said. "Thank you, Ryan, thank you, Kevin, thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and the privilege and the blessing to join."
He added, "Believe me, the honor is entirely mine. Thank you."
Read on for everything to know about Jonsson, the new Black Panther.
What else has Jonsson starred in?
Some may recognize Jonsson from his role in the HBO original drama series "Industry," in which he plays Augustus "Gus" Sackey, one of the young graduates working at the fictional London investment bank Pierpoint & Co.
Jonsson also starred as Andy the 2024 film "Alien: Romulus" and as Pete in the 2025 film "The Long Walk."
Kevin Feige got 'chills' when Coogler said he had found the next Black Panther
After Jonsson was revealed as the new Black Panther, Feige told Empire about how the 32-year-old actor was cast.
"We hadn't started a search yet," Feige said. "Ryan was working on 'Sinners,' and when Ryan works on a project, he's all in. So the presumption very much was we would sit with him after 'Sinners' came out, after the [Oscars] campaign. We were waiting till after the Academy Awards to sit with Ryan and begin that process."
He continued, "A month and a half or so before that process, he called me and said, 'I found him'. I said, 'What do you mean?' He goes, 'I found him. He's this guy, David Jonsson.' He mentioned his movies. I had seen some of them. I watched more. He goes, 'I'm going to meet him.'"
Feige said Coogler then "had a secret meeting with [Jonsson] under cloak of darkness in a hotel somewhere" and called him afterward.
"... [Coogler] said, 'He's the guy, he's the guy, I felt it. I felt it in my soul. He's a good man, and he is the next Black Panther,'" Feige recalled. "And I got chills, and I got a little welled-up and said, 'Let's do it'. So we've been sitting on this secret for a good five or six months."
What have Jonsson's 'Black Panther' co-stars said about him?
Duke spoke to Deadline following Saturday's big announcement and said the first time he spoke to Jonsson was that day. Duke said he assured his new "Black Panther" co-star that he was there to support and help him and to simply "be here for him."
Wright also reacted to the news of Jonsson's casting, telling Entertainment Weekly that she has a "personal connection" to him before reflecting on how her character, Shuri, met Toussaint at the end of "Wakanda Forever."
"Just to see the full circle of that today, I'm still living in it," she said. "We're both still checking in with each other about it."
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