Martin Freeman, the star of "The Hobbit" and "Sherlock," officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe by appearing in "Captain America: Civil War." But, based on his character's background, it seems the third "Captain America" film is not Freeman's last Marvel project.

In "Civil War," Freeman played Everett Ross, a government operative and member of the Joint Counter Terrorism Center. Of course, in a film filled with superheroes battling one another, Freeman's character was easily overshadowed.

But, fans of the Marvel comics are well aware that Freeman's Ross is not just a typical human character in the fictional universe. In fact, he is a U.S. State Department employee who's responsible for looking after foreign diplomats.

In one of his storylines, Ross was assigned in Wakanda and to work with its ruler T-Challa, also known as the Black Panther. And, with both Ross and Black Panther in "Civil War," this could mean that the relationship between these two characters will be further explored in the superhero's own standalone film.

Although this isn't confirmed yet, Freeman noted that Marvel has other plans for his character.

"That's the plan. It's a fairly small role at this stage," he said during a guest appearance on the "Graham Norton Show."

"I think my character will develop a bit more as I enter the Marvel world a bit more which seems to be happening," he added.

Given his admission about joining in other Marvel films and the fact that he's playing Ross, it's probably safe to assume that Freeman will be in the upcoming "Black Panther" live action film.

If this does happen, then he will be rejoining "Civil War" cast member Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa in the movie. Based on his background as an actor and the nature of Ross' character, Freeman could provide the comic relief of the upcoming film.

But then again, Marvel might have other plans for "Black Panther" that could affect the scope of Freeman's involvement in it. As for the upcoming film, the live-action adaptation of "Black Panther" is slated to come out on July 6, 2018, and its first stages of production will begin sometime next year.