If T’Challa is king and protector of Wakanda, then his little sister Shuri is very much the brains behind the operation.
Black Panther‘s breakout star, as played by Letitia Wright, has undoubtedly become the new genius of Marvel’s interwoven franchise – smarter than even Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) or Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Couple this with Wright’s immense performance and it’s small wonder why fans are currently crying out for a full-blown Shuri spinoff.
She’s already locked in for Avengers: Infinity War, mind you, and thanks to Marvel’s Black Panther: The Art of the Movie, we now have some never-before-seen concept art that places Shuri in the famous, Vibranium-infused suit.
As for that possible spinoff, Letitia Wright has one condition: she’ll only be interested in headlining a Shuri movie if it makes room for the Dora Milaje, the sworn protectors of Panther and his high-tech kingdom.
I hope, whenever the time is right, if it’s meant to happen, I would happily do it. But you can’t have a Shuri movie without T’Challa and you can’t have a Shuri movie without Ramonda and Nakia and the rest of the Dora Milaje and Okoye. So, I guess, the question is: when can we have Black Panther 2?
Phase 4, in all likelihood, as Marvel Studios currently has its hands full with Avengers: Infinity War and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp…and that’s just 2018.
Nevertheless, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the film’s historic opening weekend, it’s that T’Challa is about to become an MCU figurehead in 2019 and beyond, so it’s really a question of when, rather than if, Marvel decides to issue the green light on a Black Panther sequel. Stay tuned for more.
