Marvel has big plans for its Black Panther franchise that might include replacing T’Challa with everyone’s favorite tech-savvy girl, Shuri (Letitia Wright). In the first Black Panther film, we learned that the superhero has been the leader and defender of Wakanda for centuries and the mantle goes well beyond one person. While Chadwick Boseman’s version of the character will likely lead the sequel, there is talk that Marvel will eventually have T’Challa pass the torch to his younger sister.
Boseman expected to return in ‘Black Panther 2’
In the first movie of the franchise, Boseman’s T’Challa became the King of Wakanda following the tragic death of his father. His claim to the throne, however, did not go unchallenged. T’Challa had to defeat both Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and M’Baku (Winston Duke) to become the protector of all that is Wakanda.
Boseman reprised the role of T’Challa in subsequent Marvelfilms, including Captain America: CivilWar, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
With Boseman at the lead, Black Panther was one of Marvel’s highest-earning films to date and was met with critical acclaim. Given the success of Black Panther, Marvel has already confirmed that there will be at least one sequel to the movie.
In fact, director Ryan Coogler is expected to return and helmthe sequel, which should open in theaters sometime in 2021. Boseman is fullyexpected to reprise his role in the upcoming film, though it is possible thatwe also see him pass the torch to Shuri.
Will Shuri become the next Black Panther?
According to WeGot This Covered, executive producer Nate Moore recently hinted that BlackPanther’s mantle will get passed to another person in Phase 4 of the MCU. Mooreteased that anything is possible in the Black Panther franchise because thesuperhero is not confined to a single person.
“One thing I like to tell Ryan is, the Black Panther is amantle as much as it is a person, so we’re not restricted by anything, becausethe truth is, there’s a lot of different ways to go back to Wakanda and have agood time and continue to explore the themes that made the first film soresonant,” Moore shared.
If T’Challa does transfer the title of Black Panther to somebody else, he has a few options at his disposal. The clear frontrunner is his younger sister, Shuri, who has proven herself a valuable member of the MCU over the past few years.
Coogler has not confirmed the rumors about Shuri, but thetransfer of power could happen in the upcoming sequel or even Black Panther 3. Although T’Challa willnot be Black Panther forever, that does not mean he is going away for good.
How will T’Challa pass the torch?
In the event that T’Challa transfers power to Shuri, it isentirely possible that he sticks around until the end of Phase 4. Some fansbelieve that T’Challa will simply give Shuri his powers so that she can fightin his stead outside of Wakanda. T’Challa would then remain in Wakanda and ruleits people. In that scenario, Shuri would become the new Black Panther whileT’Challa would be acting King of Wakanda.
Having Shuri become the next Black Panther has severaladvantages. For one, Shuri is a fan favorite in the popular franchise andalready has a large following. It also gives Marvel the chance to have anotherfemale superhero to fight alongside Captain Marvel, something the studiodesperately needs. That said, Marvel has yet to announce anything about themovie and a lot might change between now and when production ramps up.
Everything we know about ‘Black Panther 2’
While we wait for official confirmation, we know a fewthings about the Black Panthersequel. For starters, Coogler is directing and writing the sequel. The Creed director previously revealed that hewants to explore T’Challa’s growth as a leader of Wakanda. Exactly what thatentails is yet to be seen, but it will be interesting seeing T’Challa mature inhis leadership.
When it comes to the villain, rumors claim that the big badwill be T’Challa’s longtime nemesis in the comics, Namor. There are alsoreports that Princess Zanda will go against T’Challa in the sequel. Zanda rulesthe neighboring city of Narobia and is well known for collecting artifacts withmystical powers.
Filming for BlackPanther 2 is expected to begin sometime in 2020, with a potential releasedate in 2021.
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