Denzel Washington has revealed plans to retire from Hollywood after concluding the several acting projects he has in the works, which include a role in the third installment of the "Black Panther" franchise.
The 69-year-old actor shared his intentions with Australia’s Today on Monday.
"I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. Probably not that many," he said. "I want to do things I haven’t done. I’ve played Othello at 22, I’m about to play Othello at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that Ryan Coogler’s writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.'"
He added, "After that, I’m going to do the film ‘Othello.’ After that, I’m going to do ‘King Lear.’ After that, I’m going to retire."
"Black Panther" became a key part of the MCU, with the 2018 film, starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michael B. Jordan, earning over $1.3 billion at the box office.
Chadwick Boseman, who played the main role of T'Challa, died in 2020 at the age of 43 after battling colon cancer. The 2022 follow-up, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," honored his legacy while continuing the story of Wakanda and its people.
There was controversy surrounding calls to recast Boseman, which led to a petition directed at Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Co-President Louis D'Esposito, and "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler stating that removing the character T’Challa "would be at the expense of the audiences (especially Black boys and men) who saw themselves in him."
In 2021, Marvel Studios' vice president of development, Nate Moore, explained during an appearance on the Ringer-Verse podcast that after Boseman's death, they found they could not recast him.
"When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about, 'What do we do?' And it was a fast conversation. It wasn't weeks, it was minutes of we had to figure out how to move that franchise on without that character," he said. "Because I think we all feel so much of T'Challa in the MCU on the screen ... is tied to Chadwick's performance."
Moore added, "At no point did we consider recasting" the upcoming "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," even though it was hard to plot the film without Boseman.
"So the challenge for 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' is telling a story without T'Challa. I think it's a challenge we're up for. So far, what we're getting is great."