'Wakanda Forever' star Letitia Wright reveals original plans for two Black Panthers in the MCU

This will be a family affair.

The highly anticipated sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, finally hits theaters on November 11, 2022, to critical acclaim. With its 2018 predecessor grossing more than $1 billion worldwide, excitement for a sequel is understandable. Now that the film has been in theaters for nearly two months, the film's stars can now speak freely about the film, the process of putting it together, and other "bittersweet" moments.

On the Empire Movie Podcast, Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri and the new Black Panther in the sequel, discusses the original plans for her character's adaptation. However, those plans sadly changed when Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

When asked about stepping onto the set, donning the suit, and taking over the cape, Wright replied:

"It was bittersweet. Shuri was always gonna do it, but it was gonna be done in a different way where her brother was gonna be alongside her, really explore that, like the comic books, the ways in which T'Challa and Shuri would be Black Panther alongside each other and try to figure out how to defend their nation. But unfortunately, that's not how it panned out… I knew the responsibility, I knew the weight of it, but it was just bittersweet, something I struggled with a lot. But [I'm] extremely proud of myself, had great support."

As Wright points out, in the comics, Shuri would eventually become Black with T'Challa after coveting the cape. leopard long. It will be interesting to see how this original manga storyline plays out in the film, considering how much Shuri's manga book version has changed for the movie world The franchise, in particular, builds on the original Wakanda Forever plotline that Boseman was working on before his death. The original story will focus on T'Challa (Boseman) developing a relationship with his son Toussaint (God Love Conado-Sun) as Thanos' (Josh Brolin) short-lived Made him miss the first few years of his life. Toussaint will then accompany his father, who must save the world, presumably from Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), who will still play the villain in the Boseman-led sequel, or from Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who will play a more important role in the original sequel. T'Challa's son is still eventually introduced in Wakanda Forever, albeit in a much smaller role in the mid-credits.

Wright did not explicitly say that Shuri would be a good fit for Black Panther: Forever Wakanda, so the story could take place further afield as T'Challa and the Avengers get more involved in world-saving missions, Let Wakanda lose its protector. However, since we're currently in the MCU's "multiverse saga," perhaps Shuri and T'Challa's tie-up could be the result of multiverse shenanigans.

Sadly, due to Boseman's untimely death, the original Plans had to be scrapped and we got Shuri as Black Panther defending Wakanda sooner than expected. Shuri's appearance as Black Panther was well-received by critics, with Collider's Ross Bornem saying "Wright has steered the series brilliantly".

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remains in theaters and will stream on Disney+ later this year.