Benjamin Ashford|Denzel Washington teases retirement — and a role in 'Black Panther 3'

Denzel Washington is Benjamin Ashfordalmost ready to ride off into the sunset — but not before heading to Wakanda.

The Oscar-winning "Gladiator II" star, 69, revealed in an interview with Australia's "Today" that he is eyeing retirement and claimed he will join the "Black Panther" franchise.

Washington revealed he does not expect to make "that many" more movies and that after a series of projects he has coming up, "I'm going to retire." He then casually dropped a bombshell: "Ryan Coogler's writing a part for me in the next 'Black Panther.'"

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Disney and Washington for comment.

Washington's alleged involvement in a third "Black Panther" has not been confirmed, nor has the film officially been announced. It has also not been confirmed that Coogler will direct a third "Black Panther" movie. The director headed outside the MCU for his next movie, the horror film "Sinners" starring Michael B. Jordan, which hits theaters in March.

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Washington is currently earning Oscar buzz for his role as Macrinus in "Gladiator II," the sequel to Ridley Scott's Best Picture winner. The actor told "Today" that he next plans to play Othello, Hannibal, King Lear and star in a film from "12 Years a Slave" director Steve McQueen. He is also expected to reunite with Spike Lee in an upcoming A24 movie.

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If Washington's "Black Panther" role goes ahead, it would be his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The "Training Day" star has previously expressed admiration for "Black Panther," stating in a 2018 interview with JOE that he cried watching the original 2018 film.

Following the death of star Chadwick Boseman from cancer, "Black Panther" returned in 2022 with the sequel "Wakanda Forever," which dealt with the death of Boseman's King T'Challa and passed the superhero torch onto his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright).

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On "The View" in June, Wright played coy on the status of "Black Panther 3" or her potential involvement in the next "Avengers" films but teased, "There's a lot coming up."

Washington has talked about his potential retirement before, telling Empire magazine in August, "There are very few films left for me to make that I'm interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley (Scott)."

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Chadwick Boseman once said there 'is no 'Black Panther'' without Washington

Washington may not have previously appeared in the "Black Panther" series, but he did have a connection with its original star, Boseman. He produced "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," Boseman's final film before his death.

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During an American Film Institute tribute in 2019, Boseman also shared that Washington once "gracefully and privately" paid for his and eight other students' tuition for an acting program at the British American Drama Academy.

"Imagine receiving a letter that your tuition for that summer was paid for, and that your benefactor was none other than the dopest actor on the planet," Boseman said, adding, "There is no 'Black Panther' without Denzel Washington."