The long-awaited Marvel panel at San Diego Comic Con 2026 has officially concluded, but not before a number of major reveals were announced. First up was the confirmation that, as fans had long speculated, Ryan Gosling is indeed cast as the MCU’s Ghost Rider, and he will have a standalone movie, titled Ghost Rider, directed by Shawn Levy and slated for 2028. In addition to that news, a number of thrilling appearances occurred, including Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Herbie from The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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However, a reveal on the same level as the news about Ghost Rider was confirmation that Black Panther 3 is officially well underway and will likewise have a 2028 release date. Along with those Black Panther 3 announcements was the news that T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa/Toussaint, will be recast for the film following his debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Specifically, the role will be played by David Jonsson, currently known best as Peter McVries from The Long Walk. That news has led to plenty of excitement within the fanbase, but it’s also meant a thrilling new fan theory that is actually very good.
Jonsson’s Casting Has Fans Convinced Prince T’Challa Will Be Directly Affected by Doomsday
The last (and first) time we saw Prince T’Challa on screen, he was just a little boy, and Shuri was meeting him for the very first time in Wakanda Forever. In fact, he’s estimated to only be about five or six years old in that movie. Given that, it’s obviously taken fans by surprise that Jonsson will be playing the character in Black Panther 3, as the actor is currently 32 and will be about 34 or 35 when the movie comes out (depending on when in the year it is released). That’s clearly a major difference and suggests, at the very least, a huge time jump.
It’s possible that Black Panther 3will simply go that much further in time, but fans have come up with a significantly better theory than that. Specifically, as identified in the comments of one X post by the Discussing Film account, many are speculating that this casting could have a connection to Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars, wherein something occurs in those movies that affects the timeline and somehow ends up having a direct impact on Prince T’Challa. With so little currently known about Doomsday’s plot, that’s certainly a possibility.
One comment on the post reads, “He’s the same age as Letitia so I’m guessing time jump? Or some fall out consequences from Doomsday and Secret Wars?” Others have expressed similar theories, with many simply questioning how Black Panther 3 will make such a (seemingly) major time jump work. While there are no doubt all sorts of ways this could work out, it really would be brilliant if this had a direct tie-in to Doomsday
Along with theories and questions about the implications of this casting choice in terms of age and the MCU timeline, many in the comments of myriad posts about Black Panther 3 are, of course, expressing ongoing grief about the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, who first brought the character of Black Panther to life in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War in 2016
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Kevin Feige Confirms Ryan Gosling Approached Marvel About Ghost Rider (With Specific Comics) [EXCLUSIVE]
