Is Damson Idris a lock as next Black Panther? ‘F1’ star’s cryptic take leaves fans guessing
Damson Idris was one of the names floating around to succeed the late Chadwick Boseman as the next Black Panther. Following his death in 2020, director Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios decided to honor the actor by not recasting T'Challa in the sequel, 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'. The MCU instead decided to give the mantle to his on-screen sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright). However, the speculation that a new Black Panther will be chosen has been rife since Idris' latest comments.
Last year, reports surfaced early that the franchise was open to recasting the King of Wakanda, and that with 'Avengers: Secret Wars', has already found their next Black Panther. Idris has been rumored to join the MCU in either or both of the Avengers films before 'Black Panther 3'.
At the time of writing, there is no confirmation on whether he plays an alternate version of T'Challa from across the multiverse. Recent concept art doing the rounds for 'Doomsday' on social media sees an actor who resembles Idris as the titular character. Previously, in an interview with Today, he was asked whether he had any conversations with Marvel Studios about starring as the next Black Panther, for which he had a cryptic answer: "Yes-No." He followed it up with a response to "If they asked, would you say yes?" to which he replied, "Yes."
This was later followed by an appearance alongside Angela Bassett and Danai Gurira, who dressed as Queen Ramonda and Okoye during the Vogue World: Hollywood 2025 event. His showing had Marvel faithful convinced that he was indeed the next Black Panther, succeeding Boseman and Wright.
His latest take came during the Golden Globes Awards 2026. "I am thankful to the fans. Of course, it's rumors, but I love the movie," he told, per Variety. "I love that world. I'm glad that everyone's seeing the future of that too, cause its moving in a brilliant direction. And I'm excited for the third [Black Panther]."
The Wakandans were one of the teams showcased in the leaked 'Doomsday' trailers. The newest clip started with an appearance from Shuri alongside Wakandan King M'Baku (Winston Duke) and the Dora Milaje. The clip also features Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) and Namora (Mabel Cadena). To add a comedy element for the first time in the three trailers, M'Baku's interaction with The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) leaves fans with a smile.
'Avengers: Doomsday' releases December 18, 2026. In the meantime, it will be a minute to see whether Idris will indeed be confirmed as the next Black Panther
