Marvel Studios announced its fourth-ever Black-led MCU movie, adding to a group that stayed surprisingly small for nearly two decades. Black heroes headlined billion-dollar hits and award-winning television for the studio, yet only three of its films put a Black lead at the top of the call sheet since the MCU began in 2008. The latest reveal came with a familiar director and a brand-new star attached.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, where he confirmed Black Panther 3 during Marvel Studios' Hall H panel. The third film in the franchise arrives in theaters on December 15, 2028, with David Jonsson stepping in as the new Black Panther. Letitia Wright and Winston Duke joined Coogler for the announcement, and returning as Shuri and M’Baku, respectively.
Jonsson, known for Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk, plays the grown-up son of T’Challa. The character first appeared in the credits scene of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where Nakia introduced young Toussaint to Shuri and revealed his Wakandan name, Prince T’Challa. Coogler explained that the new film jumps ahead in time and follows the young prince into adulthood:
"The last time we got to make a movie, we introduced a character who is the son of the character that the great Chadwick Boseman played, our T’Challa, in that film. And today, I want to tell you that in this next film, he grows up [and] he comes of age."
Aside from being the fourth-ever black-led superhero film in the MCU, Black Panther 3 will also mark the first time a superhero mantle is passed from a male character to a female character and then back to a male one.
Every Black-Led MCU Movie So Far
Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman made history when Black Panther premiered in 2018, turning T'Challa into a global phenomenon. Coogler’s first MCU film earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide, the biggest total for a solo superhero movie at the time, and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger gave the genre one of its most debated villains.
The awards run proved just as historic. Black Panther became the first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and it won three Academy Awards in one night. Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first Black winners in their categories for costume design and production design, while Ludwig Göransson took home the prize for his score.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Boseman’s death in August 2020 forced Coogler to rework his sequel as a story about grief, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reached theaters in November 2022 as a tribute to its late star. Letitia Wright’s Shuri moved into the lead and eventually took up the Black Panther mantle, while the film introduced Tenoch Huerta’s Namor and Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams to the MCU.
The sequel earned $859 million worldwide and brought Marvel Studios back to the Oscars. Angela Bassett earned the first acting nomination for any MCU movie, and Ruth E. Carter won a second Academy Award for costume design, making her the first Black woman with two Oscars.
Captain America: Brave New World
Anthony Mackie waited more than a decade for a movie of his own. He debuted as Sam Wilson in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, received the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and finally headlined Captain America: Brave New World in February 2025. Julius Onah directed the political thriller, which pitted the new Captain America against Harrison Ford’s President Thaddeus Ross and his crimson alter ego, Red Hulk.
The film opened to $88 million domestically, the biggest debut of 2025 at the time, and finished with about $415 million worldwide. Danny Ramirez flew alongside Mackie as the new Falcon, while Carl Lumbly reprised his role as super soldier Isaiah Bradley from Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
BONUS: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Marvel Studios’ Disney+ era gave Sam Wilson star billing years before his movie did. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier premiered in March 2021 and paired Mackie with Sebastian Stan for six episodes about who deserves to carry Steve Rogers’ shield.
Head writer Malcolm Spellman used the series to ask whether a Black man could represent a country that experimented on soldiers like Isaiah Bradley, and Sam answered in the finale by suiting up as Captain America for the first time.
BONUS: Secret Invasion
Samuel L. Jackson appeared in more MCU projects than almost anyone before Secret Invasion finally handed him the lead. The six-episode thriller premiered in June 2023 and followed an older, wearier Nick Fury as he uncovered a Skrull conspiracy reaching the highest levels of government.
Kingsley Ben-Adir played the rebel leader Gravik, with Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke joining the MCU for the first time. Reviews were rough, but the show proved Marvel trusted Jackson to front a series on his name alone after 15 years of supporting appearances.
BONUS: Ironheart
Riri Williams went home to Chicago in Ironheart, which dropped its first three episodes in June 2025 and its final three in July. Thorne reprised her role as the young inventor, whose hunt for funding pulled her into the orbit of Anthony Ramos' Parker Robbins, better known as The Hood.
Chinaka Hodge created the series, Coogler served as an executive producer, and the finale delivered one of the most requested debuts in MCU history when Sacha Baron Cohen appeared as the demonic Mephisto.
BONUS: Eyes of Wakanda
Marvel Animation released all four episodes of Eyes of Wakanda on August 1, 2025, and the anthology quickly earned praise for its hand-painted visual style. Creator Todd Harris set his stories across centuries of Wakandan history, following warriors called the Hatut Zaraze on missions to recover stolen vibranium artifacts.
Coogler executive-produced through his company, Proximity Media, and the series counts as full MCU canon, a rarity among Marvel’s animated shows. Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, and Anika Noni Rose led the voice cast.
BONUS: Wonder Man
Wonder Man arrived most recently, with all eight episodes hitting Disney+ in January 2026. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starred as Simon Williams, a struggling actor chasing the lead role in a superhero remake, opposite Ben Kingsley’s returning Trevor Slattery.
Critics embraced the Hollywood satire from Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, and Abdul-Mateen earned an Emmy nomination for his performance. The show’s future, however, was cut short when Disney renewed it in March and then canceled the second season in late July, a decision that left many fans dismayed.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
