Black Panther 3‘s casting of David Jonsson is the kind of risk Marvel used to take. It’s creative swings like these that made the MCU great.
At SDCC 2026, Marvel Studios returned to Hall H for its signature presentation. One of the highlights involved Black Panther 3. The third movie in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther trilogy will hit theaters on December 15, 2028. More importantly, Coogler announced the casting of Jonsson as T’Challa’s son, who was teased at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Jonsson is an emerging British talent who first broke out on HBO’s hit show Industry. Jonsson then went on to star as Andy Carradine in Alien: Romulus and Pete McVries in The Long Walk.
It’s throwback casting to the early stages of the MCU when Marvel was unafraid of taking chances on new or rising talent. Marvel had a gift for spotting actors who could transform into huge stars and elevate their characters to superstar status. Some roles that come to mind are Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, and Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
Even casting Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man was once a huge, and that decision helped establish the MCU and give it the credibility it needed to get off the ground.
Why David Jonsson’s Black Panther 3 casting is a smart risk
The MCU used to build stars. Now, not so much. Many of Marvel’s recent creative decisions involve bringing back the pillars of the MCU or finding A-list talent for new roles. Avengers: Doomsday is all about nostalgia. While it’s encouraging to see newer heroes in the movie like the Fantastic Four or New Avengers, the stars driving the marketing for Avengers: Doomsday are Downey as Doctor Doom, Evans as Steve Rogers, and Hemsworth as Thor.
During that same Comic-Con panel, Marvel announced Ryan Gosling will star as Ghost Rider in a new movie. This isn’t a knock on Gosling, who is an excellent actor and an inspired choice for the role. However, it does say something about Marvel’s new strategy of recruiting top stars for new projects instead of trusting the role with a budding actor.
Bringing in Jonsson resembles the casting decisions made during the early stages of the MCU. While every creative decision is a risk, Jonsson’s casting is a smart risk. Jonsson is entering an established property with Coogler, an Oscar-winning creative who has earned audience trust in Marvel with two previous Black Panther movies. Coogler also smartly cast Jonsson as T’Challa’s son, not T’Challa, which would have been an extremely divisive decision.
Hopefully the Jonsson decision works out so Marvel can get back to taking the creative swings of the past.
