Marvel Studios knew David Jonsson would star in Black Panther 3 ‘five or six months’ ago thanks to a ‘secret meeting’ director Ryan Coogler Held with Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) boss Kevin Feige.

The MCU mastermind spoke about the casting process during a conversation with Empire at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026. During their post-Hall H chat, Feige recalled the moment Coogler reached out to pitch the idea of Jonsson leading Black Panther 3 as the next Black Panther.

The Marvel Studios head said an official search for an actor to play the son of the late Chadwick Boseman’s character, T’Challa, when Coogler initially got in touch. Although the director was busy at the time, it sounds like Jonsson has been on his mind for months.

“I’ll give you the real scoop,” Feige said. “We hadn’t started a search yet. 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 Academy campaign. We were waiting ’til after the Academy Awards to sit with Ryan and begin that process.

“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.'”

Jonsson is a British actor and has been a rising star in Hollywood for the last few years. First starring in lesser-known roles with projects like Endeavour and Deep State, the actor eventually went on to receive praise for his time as Andy the android in 2024’s Alien: Romulus. Last year, he nailed another standout part as Peter in the live-action adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk.

His time on screens big and small caught Coogler’s attention, and as of Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel last night, he’s set to be the next Black Panther. When he shows up in Black Panther 3, he’ll be joined by Letitia Wright as Shuri and Winston Duke as M’Baku. Feige said Jonsson’s inclusion is a casting choice Coogler and the rest of Marvel have kept secret longer than some might have guessed.

“He had a secret meeting with him under cloak of darkness in a hotel somewhere, and called me afterwards and 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 added. “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.”