Director Ryan Coogler has confirmed that Denzel Washington will appear in the third Black Panther movie. Two-time Oscar winner Washington, 70, previously revealed that Coogler, who helmed 2018’s Black Panther and its 2022 follow-up Wakanda Forever, was writing him a part.

Like any Marvel fan thirsting for even a whiff of Black Panther 3 updates, we finally got a tiny splash of hope in the superhero drought — and it came straight from Ryan Coogler himself. The director behind the iconic franchise casually confirmed he’s writing a role for none other than Denzel Washington in the next installment.