Following Marvel Studios’ blockbuster San Diego Comic-Con reveal that British star David Jonsson will play T’Challa’s grown-up son in Black Panther 3, Marvel head Kevin Feige is opening up about the process that brought the actor into the MCU.

Speaking exclusively with Empire, Feige shared the “real scoop” behind Jonsson’s casting, revealing that director Ryan Coogler unexpectedly discovered his new leading man months ahead of schedule while wrapped up in his recent film, Sinners.

The studio originally planned to wait until after the upcoming award season before launching a formal talent search for T’Challa II (Prince Toussaint). Coogler, however, had other plans.

According to Feige, Marvel was preparing to sit down with Coogler after Sinners finished its theatrical run and Academy campaign. But roughly a month and a half before that process was even slated to begin, Coogler called Feige with unexpected news.

“He [Ryan Coogler] called me and said, ‘I found him,’” Feige recalled to Empire. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘I found him. He’s this guy, David Jonsson.’ He mentioned his movies. I had seen some of them. I watched more.”

Coogler then set up a secret face-to-face meeting with Jonsson. “He had a secret meeting with him under cloak of darkness in a hotel somewhere, and called me afterwards and said, ‘He’s the guy, he’s the guy, I felt it. I felt it in my soul. He’s a good man, and he is the next Black Panther,’” Feige shared.

The emotional impact of Coogler’s recommendation hit Feige. Hearing the passion in the director’s voice as he spoke about Jonsson, whose acclaimed work includes HBO’s Industry, Searchlight’s Rye Lane, Alien: Romulus, and Stephen King‘s The Long Walk, made the decision effortless for Marvel leadership.

“I got chills, and I got a little welled-up and said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Feige said. “So we’ve been sitting on this secret for a good five or six months.”

That months-long secrecy culminated in Hall H, where Jonsson took the stage alongside Coogler, Letitia Wright, and Winston Duke to a standing ovation.

Black Panther 3 will be shot on 70mm film and premiere December 15, 2028.