Martin Freeman will be reprising his role as Everett K Ross in Black Panther - the latest movie in the ever-expanding-spandex-movieverse from Marvel.
The news broke after the 45-year-old was snapped on set along with the Black Panther himself Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira (who you'll know as The Walking Dead's Michonne), and Lupita Nyong'o from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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Freeman, who made his name as Tim in Ricky Gervais's BBC mockumentary The Office, already played the character in 2016's superhero mash-up, Captain America: Civil War.
In that film, he was introduced as the Deputy Task Force Commander of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, which is one hell of a job title.
This makes the Sherlock star the only confirmed lead white actor in a predominantly black cast, although Andy Serkis's Ulysses Klaue/Klaw - who was last seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron - is rumoured to appear.
Plus there's word on the web that we can expect the classic cameo from Stan Lee, although both appearances are currently unconfirmed.
Everett K Ross is a recurring character from the Black Panther comics, and serves as an ally to him, as well as an official representative of the United States.
There's not a huge amount known of the movie's plot, although it'll undoubtedly pick up some of the debris left in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War.
Speaking at the Comic Con panel in 2016, Lupita Nyong'o, who'll play a Wakandan called Nakia, said: "The story of this Black Panther is – what am I allowed to say? – that the Black Panther's leadership is really threatened by two foes who come together, and so Black Panther gets the help of the CIA and the Dora Milaje to try and defeat the enemy."
We've compiled everything you need to know about Black Panther and we'll keep you posted on all the news about the film before it pounces into cinemas in 2018.
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Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
