Will Shuri Become The New Leader Of Wakanda?

After the unfortunate passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther and the upcoming sequel, announced difficulties writing the project after the actor’s passing. This leaves me and fans alike wondering who will respectfully take the place of Boseman and lead Wakanda. Will Killmonger miraculously return? Will T’Challa be recast, and the story will follow him? Or will Shuri, the princess, and sister of T’Challa, lead? My instincts tell me Shuri may be the next to take the throne. 

The Current Standing In The MCU Timeline

The conclusion of Avengers: Endgame saw the big finale of the previous phases that fans were showered with over the years. As for Black Panther fans, we were left with much to explore for our residents of Wakanda. T’Challa, along with what appeared to be the rest of Wakanda, returned from the blip in perfect timing to help fight off Thanos and prevent him from using the Infinity Gauntlet again. It’s also important to note that Okoye, who was still alive during the blip, mentioned an underwater earthquake to Black Widow.

This underwater earthquake could be a possible hint relating to anti-hero, Sub-Mariner, and his fellow aquatic members of Atlantis being the antagonists of Black Panther 2. The two previously faced off in New Avengers (2013) #22 after the Sub-Mariner invaded Wakanda, so this may be a sneak peek at what’s to come for the sequel.

Erik Killmonger 

Erik Killmonger, the infamous outed child, played by Michael B. Jordan in Coogler’s first adaptation of Black Panther, was last seen dead after his epic battle with T’Challa. The ability to travel through time and explore different realms explored by Dr. Strange becomes an option for Killmonger’s return to the big screen. While this may seem out of the ordinary to bring this villain back to life, the other speculation around him is that perhaps he didn’t die after the face-off with T’Challa and that he will return with a change of heart, which I’m positive Michael B. Jordan is more than capable of doing with his acting range.

This story’s concept would most likely have Killmonger returning to Wakanda with mixed reactions that would allow the plot to focus on elevating him from villain to an anti-hero/hero willing to take T’Challa’s responsibilities. While his revival would be somewhat confusing to fans, it’s Marvel and anything can happen!

Recast? 

Another possible solution that appears to be the simplest yet most difficult to accept is the recasting of T’Challa’s character. This would allow the storyline to continue and allow T’Challa to continue to grow onscreen, and again pursue this storyline in relation to Sub-Mariner, where two leaders of two big armies would have to face off in order to claim the land of Wakanda.

But in an interview with Deadline, producer Kevin Fiege stated there was no interest in recasting or using Computer-Generated imagery (CGI) for T’Challas character. He also followed up by mentioning that Coogler, the director of the coming sequel, is working very hard to rewrite the script and respectfully honor both Chadwick and the character of T’Challa. Recast or not, the hype and mystery surrounding the sequel have fans anticipating news regardless.

Shuri 

Last but not least, Wakanda’s go-to engineer, sister of T’Challa, and princess, Shuri. While Shuri’s character is fairly young in the series, it is possible to explore a story arc that leads to her becoming the next leader of Wakanda or, at the very least, sporting the Black Panther suit. Shuri as an engineer, is behind significant upgrades in her homeland, for her brother’s suit, and in assisting heroes involved with the final face-off against Thanos. Shuri, as seen in all of the films, is a genius. She helped develop an updated suit for T’Challa to sport, developed her own gauntlets to help face-off against Killmonger, and reincarnated Vision by helping attempt to extract the Soul Stone safely before Thanos’s goons could take it.

Let’s not forget that she is also behind the evolution of Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier character, becoming the White Wolf, who now sports an arm constructed of Vibranium made none other than our princess of Wakanda! What Shuri lacks in combat experience she makes up for in her gadget-making ability. While she may not have experience fighting villains one on one, I’m sure she is more than capable of learning while sporting the suit her brother once did. In fact, in “Black Panther: Shuri – The Deadliest of the Species” by Reginald Hudlin, the storyline features a severely injured T’Challa in a state of comatose, which expands Shuri’s involvement by putting on the suit.

A storyline like this could transition well onscreen as we can explore Shuri and see a different side of her. She would be put in a position to face greater challenges and responsibilities in a grim or bittersweet setting. This would ultimately end any further development with T’Challa’s character but would also introduce a new woman lead. This would lead to Shuri becoming the first-ever woman of color lead in the MCU. Unfortunately, Valkyrie, the new Queen of Asgard played by Tessa Thomspon, appears to be sidelined by Natalie Portman for Thor: Love and Thunder. Portman rejoined the series after director Taika Waititi offered her a character expansion for Jane Foster. A woman lead has not been seen since Captain Marvel in 2019, and it took Black Widow’s death in Avengers: Endgame to finally release another woman-led film in the MCU.

However, Shuri becoming a leader is unlikely because of actor Leticia Wright getting involved in some controversies. This past year, Leticia had tweeted in regards to vaccines and being against them, which led to backlash from many fans. We, as fans, have some power against actors. For example, actress Gina Carano was removed from her role in The Mandalorian after tweeting against the use of masks in relation to COVID-19. Leticia currently has all of her social media accounts deactivated, but there has been no news stating she will be removed from the series. While Leticia Wright and I may not share similar beliefs, her portrayal of Shuri onscreen should still make her eligible to become Queen of Wakanda.

Who Will Be The Next Leader Of Wakanda?

Ultimately, a recast would require a longer shooting process for chemistry to be built between all actors, especially with a new T’Challa. As for Killmonger, there is no doubt that Michael B. Jordan can transform this character on-screen from a villain to a hero/anti-hero; it just seems strange to bring him back from the dead when Shuri is still actively present in the series. Handing the throne to Shuri as her birthright can also be viewed as the most logical approach to the current situation. To explore this dynamic creatively, we would sacrifice the development of T’Challa’s character respectfully. Still, we would invest more of this into developing Shuri as a young up-and-comer, ready to take on major responsibilities.