Shuri forever?
Marvel has dropped the latest trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, leaving fans more convinced than ever that Letitia Wright's character, Shuri, will take over the Black Panther mantle.
The trailer ends with our first full look at the new Black Panther suit, as an unidentified person drops into view wearing it. It's not revealed who's in the suit, but the figure's slim frame strongly resembles that of Letitia Wright's Shuri, sister of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa. Plus, we see the mask is adorned with the same dots we saw Shuri wearing in the first Black Panther.
As further evidence, Marvel released a new poster that positions Shuri in the center directly under the Black Panther mask.
Marvel has not officially revealed who the next Black Panther will be. But after the studio confirmed Boseman would not be recast following his 2020 death, fans speculated T'Challa's sister would take up the mantle. Other candidates included Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia and Winston Duke's M'Baku. In the new trailer, though, the Black Panther suit is clearly being worn by a woman.
If Wright is Marvel's pick to lead the franchise going forward, it's likely to attract controversy considering she came under fire in 2020 for sharing an anti-vaccine video on social media. After drawing backlash, Wright said "you get cancelled" if "you don't conform to popular opinions," only to delete her entire Twitter account. Later, a report said Wright was continuing to espouse anti-vaccine views on the Black Panther set, though she denied this.
Some fans have argued a new actor should have been brought in to play T'Challa, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Empire, "It just felt like it was much too soon to recast."
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on Nov. 11.