India, Nov. 17 -- Director Ryan Coogler has hinted that Black Panther 3 will be his next directorial project, ending speculation about the franchise's future. "We're working on it hard. Yeah, it's the next movie," he said at Deadline's Contenders Film event. When pressed for confirmation, Coogler responded with a hint of playfulness, saying, "If it were anybody but you, I would say, 'I can neither confirm nor deny'." He also addressed casting rumours surrounding actor Denzel Washington, saying, "I am dying to work with Denzel, and I'm hoping we can make that happen. I got every intention of working with him in that movie, and as long as he's interested, it's going to happen." In an earlier interview, when asked about the timeline for the movie, Coogler had simply replied, "Not long." Black Panther (2018) starred the late Chadwick Boseman, who first played the character in Captain America: Civil War (2016). Following Boseman's death from colon cancer, the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), shifted focus. The specific storyline of Black Panther 3 remains under wraps for now. htc...