British actor, David Jonsson, has been announced as the new Black Panther, taking over one of Marvel’s most iconic roles six years after the death of Chadwick Boseman.
Marvel Studios unveiled the 32-year-old actor at its Comic-Con Hall H panel in San Diego on Saturday, confirming that he will portray Prince T’Challa II (Toussaint), the son of T’Challa and Nakia, in “Black Panther 3,” scheduled for release on December 15, 2028.
Here are key things to know about the actor set to inherit the Black Panther mantle:
Nigerian heritage and raised in London
David Jonsson was born on September 4, 1993, in London, England, and grew up in Custom House, East London.
He has described his family as Creole, with roots in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Caribbean and Sweden.
He is the youngest of four siblings, with an older brother and two older sisters.
His father worked as an IT engineer at Heathrow Airport, while his mother served with the Metropolitan Police.
But when he was 11, his parents separated, and the one stable thing in his life collapsed.
“When you come from a broken home, it changes you,” he told The Guardian in an interview published on February 15, 2026.
He also said growing up in multicultural East London helped shape both his identity and career.
Difficult childhood
Jonsson has spoken openly about being dismissed from school before transferring to another school in Hammersmith.
After completing his GCSEs, he spent two years in New York before returning to London, joining the National Youth Theatre and earning a scholarship to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he graduated in 2016.
Reflecting on his upbringing in an interview published by Hollywood Authentic on February 20, 2026, he said, “Growing up in a single-parent household wasn’t easy at all, especially in East London. My brother and my sister did a lot of raising me.”
Breakthrough
Although he began his career on stage, Jonsson gained international recognition for playing Augustus “Gus” Sackey in the BBC and HBO drama Industry between 2020 and 2022.
To prepare for the role, he said he visited Eton College and the University of Oxford to better understand the privileged background of his character.
Major Hollywood films
Jonsson’s profile has risen rapidly with acclaimed performances in Rye Lane (2023), Alien: Romulus (2024), The Long Walk (2025) and Wasteman (2025).
He is also set to appear in upcoming films including Scandalous!, The Chaperones, and an untitled project by musician Frank Ocean.
Awards
In 2025, Jonsson won the BAFTA Rising Star Award, one of British cinema’s most prestigious honours for emerging actors.
Speaking about the award, he said, “That award meant more to me than anything… People getting behind me, and my work being received – it was proof.”
He has also received nominations from the British Independent Film Awards, Saturn Awards and several international critics’ associations.
He is also a producer
Beyond acting, Jonsson has ventured into film production.
He served as executive producer on Wasteman and co-founded the production company greyarea., which focuses on developing character-driven stories.
Explaining the company’s vision, he said the stories they love “don’t live in black and white. They live in the contradictions, complexities, and all the emotional truths in between.”
He dreamed of acting from a young age
Before his acting breakthrough, Jonsson worked various jobs, including in pubs, bars and as a model at Abercrombie & Fitch, while pursuing his dream.
He recalled spending lunch breaks sitting on a bench in London’s Berkeley Square imagining a future in acting.
“I used to think, ‘How am I going to get here?’”
Looking back at that period, he said his younger self would probably tell him: “You’ve done well. Keep going.”
He says he chooses roles carefully
Despite his growing popularity, Jonsson says he is selective about the projects he accepts.
“I’m not motivated by needing to work and do different things. I say no more than I say yes… It’s that feeling of doing it my way,” he said.
He has cited actors such as Michael B. Jordan and filmmaker Colman Domingo as career inspirations.
Future of Black Panther
Jonsson’s casting ends years of speculation over who would carry forward the Black Panther legacy after Chadwick Boseman’s death in 2020.
Rather than recasting Boseman’s T’Challa, Marvel has chosen to continue the story through his on-screen son, Prince T’Challa II, who was introduced as a child in the closing scene of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
The new film will follow the character’s coming-of-age journey, with Ryan Coogler returning as director and Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Denzel Washington also joining the cast.
