British actor David Jonsson has been cast as the new Black Panther in Marvel’s Black Panther 3. He will play Prince T’Challa II, also known as Toussaint, the adult son of the late Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa and Nakia.
The announcement was made on 25 July 2026 during Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Director Ryan Coogler, who is returning to direct the film, introduced Jonsson on stage alongside returning cast members Letitia Wright (Shuri) and Winston Duke (M’Baku). Jonsson will take on the role of the character first introduced as a child in the post-credits scene of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). The film is scheduled for release on 15 December 2028.
Jonsson, 32, was born in London on 4 September 1993 and raised in Custom House in East London’s Docklands. He is the youngest of four siblings. His father worked as an IT engineer at Heathrow Airport and his mother served with the Metropolitan Police. Jonsson has described his background as Creole, with family roots in Sierra Leone (specifically Sierra Leone Creole/Krio), Nigeria, the Caribbean, and Sweden. In interviews he has stated: “My family’s Nigerian and Sierra Leone Creole… Culture was everything growing up.” He has also referenced a grandfather who worked as a barrister.
Jonsson trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2016. He gained recognition for his role as Gus Sackey in the HBO/BBC series Industry (2020–2022). Subsequent credits include the film Rye Lane (2023), Alien: Romulus (2024), and The Long Walk (2025). In 2025 he received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
The casting adds another layer to Sierra Leone’s links with the Black Panther franchise. The late Chadwick Boseman, who originated the role of T’Challa, also had ancestral connections to the country. DNA testing through African Ancestry indicated that Boseman’s ancestry included the Krio and Limba peoples of Sierra Leone, as well as the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Jola of Guinea-Bissau. Boseman publicly discussed these results and noted that learning about his Limba and Yoruba heritage helped inform his approach to the character.
Black Panther 3 will be directed by Ryan Coogler and filmed in 70mm. Denzel Washington has previously confirmed involvement in the project. The story is expected to focus on the coming-of-age of T’Challa’s son as he assumes the Black Panther mantle.
Jonsson’s Sierra Leone Creole heritage and Boseman’s DNA results place two successive portrayals of the Black Panther character in connection with the country.