Denzel Washington Says He's Joining 'Black Panther 3' Before Retirement

Denzel Washington's got one legendary acting résumé -- and it looks like he's gearing up to cap off his career with a series of epic roles, including an iconic Marvel flick.

The Oscar winner shared he’s not sure how many more roles he’ll take on, especially as he’s being super selective as he approaches 70 -- but dished that director Ryan Coogler's writing him a part in the third 'Black Panther' movie.

Denzel dropped the news on Australia’s "Today" ... casually listing off a few roles he's planning to play before he officially throws in the towel -- "Othello" ... an untitled Netflix film about the historical Carthaginian general Hannibal, directed by Antoine Fuqua ... "King Lear" ... and a Steve McQueen film. It's unclear in what order these 4 films will be produced -- but the real mic-drop moment is his 'Black Panther' tease tucked right in there.

No official confirmation on his claim yet, but if this goes down, it’ll be Denzel’s Marvel debut -- and it's a full-circle moment.

The late Chadwick Boseman once shared that Denzel actually helped pay for his acting school, so the OG 2018 'Black Panther' wouldn’t even be a thing without him.