Amid rumors that Marvel is in the process of casting a new actor to play T'Challa (Jr.?) for Black Panther 3 and beyond, we may now have confirmation that the MCU's current Black Panther will return for the studio's next big event films.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Letitia Wright will reprise her role as Shuri for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
This wouldn't exactly be a massive surprise (we're expecting pretty much every main character to show up in one or both of these movies, after all), but there is talk of the new T'Challa playing a part in Doomsday, so it'll be interesting to see if Shuri plays a significant role in the story or simply shows up to pass on the mantle of Wakanda's protector to her nephew.
At the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri meets the son T'Challa had with Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), and finally allows herself to stop mourning her brother's death by burning her funeral robes.
Wright was asked if we can expect to see Shuri in one of the upcoming Avengers movies and/or Black Panther 3 during a recent appearance on The View.
"If it's, uh, let's just say, let's just say..." Wright responded, pausing to choose her words carefully. "I would like to continue with Shuri. She's one of my favorite characters, such a blessing, honestly, I kid you not. I'm so grateful for her."
"There's a lot coming up," she added with a smile.
A third Black Panther movie has yet to be officially green-lit, but Marvel's Nate Moore has pretty much confirmed that the project is in the planning stages with director Ryan Coogler set to return to take the helm, so we'd say it's only a matter of time before we get an announcement.
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, and Alex Livanalli.