Denzel Washington Recalls Crying 'a Little Bit' After Watching 'Black Panther'

Black Panther got an emotional reaction out of Denzel Washington.

The two-time Academy Award winner appeared in new Apple TV+ documentary Number One On the Call Sheet, and recalled watching the 2018 Marvel movie. At the time, Washington was in Broadway production The Iceman Cometh but was able to attend the Black Panther premiere, although he skipped the red carpet. "I cried a little bit when I saw Black Panther," he says.

"So I went backstage and I saw Chad [Chadwick Boseman] and Ryan [Coogler]," Washington said in the documentary, according to People. "I spoke to them and then I sat down and watched the movie. And I felt like the baton had been passed. I was like, 'Wow, these young boys are gone,' you know."

"I felt, I don’t know if the word is 'relieved,' but I was proud to see what they had done and seeing where they were headed," he continued.

The blockbuster went on to gross over one billion globally, which surprised Washington, although he called the feat a "special moment."

In the 1990s, Washington covered summer acting program tuition for Boseman, who died from colon cancer in 2020, and eight other students who attended Howard University. In a speech honoring Washington with the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, Boseman said "there is no 'Black Panther'" without the acting legend.

"And not just because of me but my whole cast, that generation stands on your shoulders," Boseman said around the one-minute mark of the video above.

Last year, Washington revealed that he will be cast in the third Black Panther installment, although he would later apologize for sharing the news prematurely. But in a new episode of podcast Nightcap, Coogler expressed that he still has a BP3 spot for Washington.

"I’ve been dying to work with Denzel," Coogler said around the 24-minute mark of the video below. "I’m hoping we can make that happen. I’ve got every intention of working with him on that movie. As long as he’s interested, man, it’s going to happen. He’s a living legend and a great mentor for so many of us. He’s all about looking out for us, now."