As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday (Nov. 12), Denzel Washington dropped a couple of bombshells during his media tour for Gladiator II. Heading to theaters later this month, the veteran actor stars in the highly anticipated sequel as Macrinus, a wealthy arms dealer with a stable of slaves-turned-fighters.
In an appearance on Australia’s “Today,” Washington stated that he'll soon be retiring from Hollywood. “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,” he remarked. “I want to do things that I haven’t done.” He reflected on past roles and upcoming projects, adding, “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.” He ended his response by confirming that Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in the third installment of Marvel Studios' Black Panther series.
The Black Panther franchise is a cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially since the 2018 original film broke records and brought in more than $1.3 billion at the box office. The sequel, 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, honored the late Chadwick Boseman and continued to build on the fictional African nation and its inhabitants with similar commercial success.
While this wasn’t mentioned in the interview, Washington is also expected to reunite with Spike Lee before he takes his final curtain call. As REVOLT previously reported, the legendary director recruited him for the upcoming crime thriller High and Low, an English reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic of the same name. If completed, the project will be the fifth collaboration between Lee and Washington, following 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues, 1998’s He Got Game, 1992’s Malcolm X, and 2006’s Inside Man.