David Jonsson, the 32-year-old British actor from east London's Docklands, has been handpicked by Marvel to play the son of T'Challa in Black Panther 3, taking on one of Hollywood's most iconic roles following the death of Chadwick Boseman.
Marvel's choice revealed at Comic-Con
At Comic-Con in San Diego, director Ryan Coogler introduced Jonsson on stage, prompting the crowd to chant "Wakanda forever." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recalled that Coogler first suggested Jonsson six months ago, saying, "He called me and said: 'I found him.'" Coogler later told Feige after meeting Jonsson privately: "He's the guy. I felt it in my soul. He's a good man, and he is the next Black Panther."
Jonsson's journey from expulsion to stardom
Growing up in Custom House, Newham, as the youngest of four children, Jonsson faced upheaval after his parents' separation when he was 11. He was expelled from school for fighting as a teenager, but told the Guardian: "I wasn't a bad kid at all. I was just a bit … distracted at the time." He then told his mother, one of the first Black police community support officers in London, that he wanted to be an actor. At a new school in Hammersmith, he performed in school plays, and at 16 won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He later joined the National Youth Theatre before winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Breakthrough and acclaim
Jonsson left drama school early to join a revival of Mary Stuart opposite Juliet Stevenson, which transferred to the West End. His 2021 performance in And Breathe … at the Almeida won him a Black British Theatre Award. His television breakthrough came as Gus Sackey in the HBO/BBC banking drama Industry, which he left in 2022. His first film lead was in Raine Allen-Miller's acclaimed 2023 romcom Rye Lane, which premiered at Sundance and earned him a British Independent Film Award (Bifa) nomination. He became the first Black lead in a television adaptation of Agatha Christie with the BBC's Murder Is Easy, and later starred in the sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus in 2024, which earned him the Bafta Rising Star award. He also appeared in the Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk and the British prison film Wasteman, earning his second Bifa nomination.
Representation and legacy
Jonsson has said: "Every character I do, no matter what, I'm going to be a Black man first." Accepting his Bafta award last year, he added: "Growing up, I had the Denzel Washingtons and Idris Elbas, but they're not me. There's not enough space for diverse talent in this industry. I realise I have an important role in defining what Black is." The original Black Panther film grossed more than $1.3bn (£1bn) worldwide, won three Oscars, and became the first superhero movie nominated for best picture. Jonsson now inherits both the character's name and its huge legacy, following Letitia Wright's Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
