“Huge Responsibility,” Fan-favorite Black Panther Actor Shares Words of Support for Franchise’s Newest Star

While some in the MCU fanbase felt let down by the San Diego Comic Con 2026 announcements, particularly during the Marvel panel, there were several major pieces of news from that event. Among them were the reveals that, as fans had suspected (and long fan cast), Ryan Gosling will be the MCU’s Ghost Rider, and he will appear in an upcoming movie, Ghost Rider, slated for 2028. In addition to that news, Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter was confirmed to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, offering some potential hints about what is to come in Peggy and Steve’s story.

However, one of the biggest pieces of news from SDCC this year was the announcement that Black Panther 3 will be hitting theaters in 2028, and the film has officially recast Black Panther/King T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa, ahead of the new movie. Now, David Jonsson will be filling these massive shoes, raising a host of exciting questions, including how this time jump will work, given that Prince T’Challa was just five or six years old in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Jonsson is currently in his 30s. Obviously, this is also a major role to step into, and the stars of the franchise have already begun voicing their perspectives on the choice.

The Stars of Black Panther Are Fully Backing Jonsson

The news that Jonsson would be joining Black Panther 3 as Prince T’Challa and becoming the new Black Panther meant that Shuri (Letitia Wright) will have only been Black Panther for two movies: Wakanda Forever and Doomsday, which releases in December. However, Wright has already shared her support of Jonsson, proving that there are no hard feelings about her relatively short time as the hero. Instead, she described the news as “really beautiful.” Now, yet another Black Panther alum has weighed in, and he, too, is fully supporting Jonsson in this new role.

Speaking to Fandango about the news, M’Baku actor Winston Duke said, “It’s a really huge responsibility. It’s never lost on me, what it means. And my job, the way I see it, is I just want to extend the same grace that I was offered.” Duke went on to highlight that Black Panther was his first movie and said that he left the experience as an “ambassador of Wakanda,” and he wants Jonsson to feel the same way. “It’s going to be nuanced to his perspective, and I can’t wait to see his translation,” Duke added.

Clearly, some of the biggest stars of the franchise are completely supporting their brand-new co-star, but Duke is also correct that this new role is a huge responsibility for Jonsson. Although he will not be playing King T’Challa, and therefore is not directly ‘replacing’ the late and beloved Chadwick Boseman, Jonsson is essentially stepping into those shoes as, quite literally, the heir to that throne. There is a huge amount of weight and, no doubt, pressure that comes with that, but it’s reassuring to see the cast so positive about this casting decision so far.

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