Letitia Wright Teases Shuri Might Be the New Black Panther in ‘Wakanda Forever’
As part of the new cover story for the upcoming issue of Empire Magazine, the print publication had the chance to sit down with the cast and crew of the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where the actors revealed some interesting details about the movie.
For example, one that made all the headlines earlier this week is that Namor will be a mutant in the movie, something Ryan Coogler and the team will be able to do thanks to Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox in 2019, before pre-production on the movie even began.
A little over a year after the acquisition took place, the world was hit with almost inexplicable news: Chadwick Boseman, the beloved actor and the living incarnation of the Black Panther mantle, had passed away. Amid all the tragicness, Marvel Studios decided to move forward with the Black Panther sequel that was deep into pre-production and Ryan Coogler re-wrote the script to include T’Challa’s death at the beginning of the movie (it is still unknown if the character will be alive or dead when the movie starts, but we do know that his death is what sets the plot in motion). However, this is a Black Panther movie, and as the teaser trailer released during San Diego Comic-Con 2022 suggested, there will be someone donning the Black Panther suit.
Speaking to Empire, Letitia Wright might have added some fuel to the rumors saying that it will be Shuri who steps in for her brother and takes over the mantle. She said the following:
“That’s a tricky question to answer. I had a chat about it with Ryan and Chad when we were making Black Panther, and we touched on it briefly. When I realised I was playing Shuri, it was something that I really looked forward to.”
In the second part of the quote she is referring to, of course, the fact that the character once took over the Black Panther title in the comics (see Black Panther #1 (2009) and Doomwar (2010)). The first part, however, screams NDA, and it is abundantly clear that she quickly tried to steer away from any trouble.
After the first teaser trailer came out, we speculated that it would be Nakia who would take over the title, as it was that character that made the most logical sense — we even posted an editorial in late 2020 to point out the many reasons why it wouldn’t make sense for Shuri to be the new Black Panther in the MCU. However, Wakanda Forever has plenty of room to prove us wrong, and so far, Ryan Coogler has not missed. So if they are going the Shuri route, we will definitely be keeping an open mind.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will debut in theaters worldwide on November 11. Stay tuned, as a new trailer may be on the horizon.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
