Recently, during his worldwide press tour promoting “Gladiator II,” Denzel Washington talked quite a bit about his retirement. He said there are a few filmmakers he still wants to work with, but after that, he’s done. One of those filmmakers is Ryan Coogler. And Washington made headlines when he mentioned Coogler because the actor said he was going to collaborate with the filmmaker on (previously unannounced) “Black Panther 3.” As you might guess, this was definitely not how Marvel Studios and Coogler wanted “Black Panther 3” to be announced.
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In a recent episode of Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, Washington explained how he had to call Ryan Coogler to apologize for letting the cat out of the bag. In fact, he goes on to put a bit of a doubt on the whole situation, hinting that he doesn’t know what Coogler has cooking for him. (Let’s be real, that’s just Washington trying to cover his tracks.)
“I called him the other day. I forgot what it was about — no, I called him to apologize,” Washington said. “That’s right. I called him. I said, ‘I’m sorry, man.’ He’s like, ‘No, man, it’s all good.’ I FaceTimed, and right there next to him was his lady. They were editing. They were hanging out.”
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As mentioned, he also made it seem like the “Black Panther 3” reveal was premature and he might be working with Coogler on something else.
“I don’t know what he’s got cooking for me,” he said. “I love Ryan because he’s like, he won’t say things. ‘You know what I’m saying? Like, you know what I’m saying?’ Well, at least that’s when he talks to me. It’s like, ‘You know what I’m saying?’”
“I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know what you’re saying, Ryan, say it!’” Washington added. “’Well, like, you know what I’m saying? I’m doing a “Black Panther.”’ That’s how he sounds, right? ‘Yeah, you know what I’m saying?’ And like, I’m like, ‘Man, are you kidding me? Just write it! Whatever you write, I’ll do it.’”
Of course, if Denzel Washington did a Marvel film, that would be huge for the studio. Washington is still one of the best actors working today, and it would lend quite a bit of gravitas to a “Black Panther” sequel. But perhaps it’s not going to happen. We’ll have to wait and see.
