Ryan Coogler has confirmed a part has been set aside for Denzel Washington in Black Panther 3.

The 39-year-old Hollywood director is planning a third instalment in the Black Panther film series after helming the 2018 original and 2022 sequel, Wakanda Forever.

Washington, 70, previously teased that he was being lined up for a role in a third Black Panther film, and now Coogler has confirmed this is indeed the plan.

He told the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast of Black Panther 3, "There's no fiction out there. Denzel is family at this point... I've been trying to work with him since day one."

Lavishing praise on the two-time Oscar-winner, he continued, "I think he's the greatest living actor, and in terms of what he means to our culture, forget about it. I've been talking to him about this to him for a long time."

Admitting he was surprised when the Training Day let slip he was planning to appear in the Marvel movie, Coogler added, "I was surprised that when he mentioned (Black Panther 3), but it's not like it's not true."

Washington teased his potential role last year while promoting Gladiator 2, saying that Coogler was "writing a part for me in the next Black Panther."

The franchise has attracted huge star power in the first two instalments, with late Oscar-nominee Chadwick Boseman leading the franchise before his tragic death from cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.

Oscar winners Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong'o and Angela Bassett have all appeared in the film series alongside other big-name stars including Michael B. Jordan and Letitia Wright.