British actress Letitia Wright has been confirmed by Disney during their presentation at CinemaCon to playing the sister of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa in Black Panther.
Shuri eventually takes up the mantle of Black Panther too.
The princess of Wakanda, Shuri is T’Chaka’s youngest child and only daughter. From a very young age, Shuri coveted the Black Panther mantle. She attempts to challenge the then-Black Panther, her uncle S’yan, for the mantle, only to discover that he had already been defeated by her older half-brother T’Challa. During an attack on Wakanda by Klaw and a group of his mercenaries, she uses the Ebony Blade to defeat the Russian Radioactive Man, killing him in the process. Shell-shocked by her first kill, T’Challa promises to train her in hand-to-hand combat, enabling her to fight on her own terms should she ever need to take his place as leader of Wakanda.
We’re excited to see what path Marvel will give Wright’s Shuri in future films, given she could take over the franchise at some point if need be.
Black Panther is set for release on February 16th, 2018.
SOURCE: DISNEY/CINEMACON