Denzel Washington called director Ryan Coogler and apologised for spilling the beans about Black Panther 3 in an interview.

During his concurrent Gladiator II and The Piano Lesson press tours, the Oscar-winning actor let slip that the Black Panther writer-director was working on a third film and writing a character for him to play.

In a new interview on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Washington revealed he called the director to apologise for his loose lips.

“Ryan’s a genius,” he said. “I called him and apologised for talking about the movie, and right there sitting with him was his beautiful wife. He’s still Ryan, humble and full of ideas. Whatever he writes, I’ll read.”

The Training Day star declined to give any more details about the film, which has yet to be confirmed by Marvel bosses.

The 69-year-old made the admission as he discussed being selective about his final projects before his retirement.

“At this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in November.

“I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.”

The first Black Panther, starring the late Chadwick Boseman, was released in 2018 to huge critical and commercial acclaim. The sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, starring Letitia Wright, was released in 2022. A third has not been officially announced.

Coogler, who wrote and directed both films, recently took a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to make the upcoming horror Sinners with his frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan. That movie is due to be released in March.

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