T’Challa’s little sister, Shuri was the literal standout in Black Panther. But, what should happen in the sequel with the King of Wakanda no longer being around?
The death of Chadwick Boseman broke the Entertainment industry. His poor health was such a secret that the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige didn’t even know. Since his passing, there was a massive question mark over what should be done with his character, T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Should they recast? Should he die? Or could there be a workaround? During the Disney Investor Day presentation, it was revealed that the current Black Panther would NOT included in the film as it would not honour the legendary the believed actor left behind. This had been on the minds of fans for a while and many questioned how the upcoming Black Panther II would continue without its star. One suggestion that was bought up involves Princess Shuri, the king’s heir and little sister.
Letitia Wright knocked her portrayal of Shuri out of the park. It is one of the MANY reasons people loved the first Black Panther. What stands out about her is she is not your average princess. She’s funny, insanely smart and could outsmart some of the MCU’s brightest minds, including Professor Hulk himself, Bruce Banner who got the surprise of his life when she issued a solution to getting the Mind Stone out of Vision during Avengers: Infinity War. As humourous as her “I’m sure you did your best” was, It makes us so happy that we’ll be seeing more of her in future films.
If we had our way, Shuri would be in more projects like right now. Shuri is believed to have a major role in Black Panther II but will she become the next Black Panther? That’s where our thoughts kick in.
Royal Bloodline
Shuri comes from a long bloodline of Black Panthers. Her brother, T’Challa is the current one in the MCU after their father was assassinated. All the men assumed the mantle of king and the superhero alter ego. As far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes, there has been no woman take the title in their history that we know of.
Since T’Challa will not be recast for Black Panther II, there is only do much they can do. Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of the film said he had already started the script. Now, he has write out Boseman’s character in a way that is respectful and honours his legacy. One option he has is to make Shuri the Queen of Wakanda and the new Black Panther.
Making Shuri Queen of Wakanda makes a load of sense given she had equal right to the throne as her brother.
How To Remove T’Challa From The Story While Honouring Chadwick’s Legacy
T’Challa’s story was only just beginning in Black Panther and we were just starting to see the effects put into place during Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. However, with Chadwick’s death, we might never get to see how the rest of the story plays out. That begs the question as to how the character’s absence will be handled during Black Panther II and how it will honour the actor.
There is several ways T’Challa (and Chadwick)’s legacy can live on without having to use a CGI double, stand ins, or unused footage. Our suggestions include:
- Died off-screen – The best idea we have is to kill T’Challa off-screen. It would be Coogler’s choice as to how it happens. This is probably the most ideal way to end the current Black Panther’s story. It also shuts down any questions people might have going forward.
- Disappearance – Having T’Challa disappear might not be the greatest idea as it raises more questions that will need to be answered.
- Death and disappearance – Now, one of the things that could happen is T’Challa disappears and is found dead or murdered. While it’s possible this could be an option too, it wouldn’t really honour Chadwick’s memory.
- Ambiguous – Of all the ideas presented, one of the most intriguing is leaving T’Challa’s fate ambiguous. This does not warrant further explanation.
Losing Chadwick was tragic and it is something that still haunts us. However, his legacy will continue through whatever Black Panther II brings.
How T’Challa’s Fate Could Affect Shuri’s Claim To The Throne
We know that upon the death of the Wakandan monarch, their heir takes over but must participate in ritual combat before the power is transferred. This was the case with T’Challa. Despite being one of T’Chaka’s two heirs, the prince had to ensure no one was going to challenge him. He does and goes up against against M’Baku and wins. Instead of killing him, he shows him mercy.
Now, this shows what kind of leader T’Challa would be. Kind. Compassionate. Willing to listen and adapt to change. He was also trained to be a warrior.
Shuri, on the other hand, would be a very different leader. She is a genius with technology but she’s not much of a fighter from what we’ve seen. She uses tech in her fight with her cousin, Killmonger which almost got her seriously close to being killed.
If she were to take the throne, the way she ends up sitting on it would be very different to her brother. T’Challa reunited the Wakandan people with the world. He also ended up becoming friends with his rival, M’Baku.
Shuri, however, knew there was no way she would ever become Queen of Wakanda. Though, there was always a 00000.01% chance she would. Now, we don’t know if there will be the same ritual combat thing since we don’t actually know if it applies to incoming Queens or other female leaders. She would likely have to ingest whatever is left of the heart shaped herb so she could become the new Black Panther.
