Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens with T'Challa's funeral and ends with the revelation that he had a son, in secret, with Nakia. Toussant, whose Wakandan name is "T'Challa," met his aunt Shuri in the movie's mid-credits scene in what proved to be a highly emotional not to end this story on.
The expectation now is that young T'Challa will eventually inherit his father's mantle, whether it's 10 or 15 years from now or in a time jump created by Kang the Conqueror's machinations in the next two Avengers movies.
Talking to Star Wars' John Boyega for a special series of interviews with Variety, Shuri actress Letitia Wright opened up on the impact that scene had on her.
"That post-credit scene, for me, is another extension of the ways in which we wanted to honor Chadwick [Boseman] - especially the role of T’Challa," she explains. "In the movie that Chadwick was written into before he passed, there is a journey of a father and son."
"When reading it, I could sense we had to find a way to continue the legacy of what T’Challa means to the world, especially to young Black men. That scene messed me up."
Asked how many young actors auditioned for the role, Wright revealed: "Two. Then Divine [Love Konadu-Sun] came in. His name is Divine. He had a little Chadwick Mohawk. Me and Lupita Nyong’o kept looking at each other like, ‘This is the kid.’ That scene is beautiful because it represents what the future will be."
It's interesting that original plans for the Black Panther sequel called for T'Challa to explore his relationship with his son, likely because we'd have learned he missed the first five years of the boy's life after being snapped out of existence by Thanos. That would have made for an interesting movie, and one we're sure Boseman could have done amazing things with.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be after he passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer. The sequel we did get, however, definitely did the late actor justice.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.