Kani the hot new superhero?

South African actor Atandwa Kani is in the US shooting a new film.

He recently said he would be starring in a film about two South Africans who head to the US to try to make it big in Hollywood.

But it seems there is another film he is working on that has the potential to be even bigger. Kani might be joining the cast of the Marvel superhero film The Black Panther, due for release next year.

The Black Panther tells the story of a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

The Black Panther character first appeared in last year's Captain America: Civil War.

Not much is known about the movie, but Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, who will also star in the film, gave fans a taste of it in an interview with US publication Collider last year.

"The story is that the Black Panther's leadership is threatened by two foes who come together.

"Black Panther gets help from the CIA and the Dora Milaje [Black Panther's personal bodyguards] to try to defeat the enemies," Lupita said.

So, what points to Kani being in the film?

He's working with his father, John Kani, again. Although Atandwa Kani would not reveal the name of the film he is working on, he has in Instagram posts revealed that it will reunite him with his father.

John Kani featured in Marvel's Captain America: Civil War last year by playing the role of the Black Panther's father, King T'Chaka of Wakanda.

He is expected to repeat that role in the coming stand-alone film about the superhero.

He's currently working with another confirmed The Black Panther star, US actor Sterling K Brown.

"When you're working with Golden Globe nominee and Emmy award-winner Sterling K Brown you know that God is smiling down on you," Kani wrote on Instagram this week.

He's in the right place at the right time. Pictures posted by Kani also hint at the possibility of a role in the Marvel film. A notice by US casting agency Tammy Smith Casting said filming for The Black Panther is to begin this month in Atlanta, Georgia, where Kani is now living.

His team was tight-lipped about whether he has joined The Black Panther, cast, saying he had signed a non-disclosure agreement before shooting his new film.