Denzel Washington has revealed that he plans to retire in the near future, with one of his final roles being in the third Black Panther film.
The 69-year-old Oscar winner, who is currently winning rave reviews and awards buzz for his performance in Gladiator II, claims that “there are very few films” left for him to make at this late stage in his career.
While on the press tour for Gladiator II, Washington told Australia’s Today programme that there are now only a handful of filmmakers that he wishes to work with.
He said: “For me, it’s about the filmmakers. Especially at this point in my career, I am only interested in working with the best. I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. It’s probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done.
Washington went on to mention a production of Othello that he is starring in on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal in February 2025. “I played Othello at 22. I am about to play Othello at 70,” he said.
Continuing, the Training Day star name checked both Steve McQueen and Ryan Coogler as directors he hopes to work with, and also mentioned an adaptation of King Lear and a film about Carthaginian military leader Hannibal.
“After that, I am playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking to Steve McQueen about a film,” said Washington. “After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. 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.”
Aside from the Hannibal film, which is being directed by Antoine Fuqua for Netflix, none of the other film projects Washington mentioned have been officially confirmed.
The Steve McQueen project remains firmly under wraps as does a third Black Panther film. However, due to the success of the first two films, it remains highly likely that Marvel and Disney will draft Coogler in for another visit to Wakanda.
Before his untimely death in August 2020, Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa in four Marvel movies, revealed how Washington had paid for him to go to acting school.
Speaking at an AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony for Washington in 2019, Boseman said: “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington. My whole cast stands on your shoulders. The daily battles won, the thousand territories gained, the many sacrifices you made for the culture on film sets through your career, the things you refused to compromise along the way lay the blueprints for us to follow.”
Independent.co.uk