Malik Davis
Contact Malik Davis by Email View all posts by Malik Davis July 29, 2026
Ryan Coogler officially announced that David Jonsson will take on the role of the new Black Panther. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Black Panther franchise have entered a new era. During this year’s Comic-Con, Marvel Studios and director Ryan Coogler officially announced that David Jonsson will take on the role of the new Black Panther.
Now, years after Chadwick Boseman’s untimely passing and the box office hit film’s sequel, Wakanda Forever, Jonsson will step into the role of Prince T’Challa II and carry on Boseman’s legacy and performance as the Black Panther. Coogler reportedly met with Jonsson in secret following the awards campaign for Sinners. According to Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige, Coogler immediately knew Jonsson was the right actor for the role.
“I found him. He’s the guy, David Jonsson,” Feige recalled Coogler telling him on a call. ‘I’m going to meet him.’ He had a secret meeting with him under the cloak of darkness in a hotel somewhere and called me afterward 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.’”
In the days since the major announcement, one question remains: Who is the actor that will play the new Black Panther? Here is a list of five things you should know about rising British actor David Jonsson.
This list was originally published on VIBE.
-
David Jonsson is From London and the Youngest of Five Siblings
Image Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images Jonsson was born and raised in East London, England, and described his neighborhood as community-oriented despite the challenges it presented. Growing up in Custom House, he has spoken openly to the Hollywood Authentic about the violence in the area and how it shaped his perspective on life.
“I’m not being funny or nothing, but where I grew up, there were stabbings every other week, month. I went to too many memorials,” he shared. “Depending on where you grow up, it dictates what is possible or what you think is possible.”
Jonsson, 32, is the youngest of five children. His parents separated when he was 11 years old, and he was raised in a single-parent household while his mother worked as a police officer in North London. His older siblings also helped raise him. He later moved to New York after earning a scholarship to study theater history at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
