Disclaimer: The following article contains full spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.The long-awaited sequel to Black Panther is finally here with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and while there is certainly a good amount of excitement surrounding the film, there's also a bittersweet feeling attached as well. Not only is this the follow-up to one of the biggest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's also the film that says a proper goodbye to the star of the original film, Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away in 2020 after a long private battle with cancer. Boseman is fondly remembered by his fans and peers as a pioneering acting talent both in the MCU as King T'Challa and outside of it with gripping performances in 42 and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Though Chadwick may no longer be with us, his legacy as the man who brought one of Marvel's most beloved characters to life, and we knew pretty early on that the next visit to Wakanda would see the return of the Black Panther in one way or another.

That of course begs the question: who ultimately becomes the next Black Panther? Is it Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), the skilled Wakandan spy who had a romantic relationship with T'Challa? Perhaps it's Okoye (Danai Gurira), the loyal Dora Milaje general who was one of T'Challa's closest confidants? Well, when it comes to the line of succession, there is really one obvious choice, and that is T'Challa's sister, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright).

Who is Shuri?

Letitia Wright as Shuri in Talokan in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Image via Marvel Studios

Though her brother, T'Challa, made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, Shuri would be introduced in Black Panther two years later. The younger sibling of the two children of King T'Chaka (John Kani) and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri is brash and arrogant, not showing much reverence or respect for Wakanda's sacred rules and traditions. Her arrogance isn't entirely unfounded, as Shuri is a technological genius who is partly responsible for the technological advancement of the nation that has launched it years beyond that of the rest of the world. Despite her cocky and brazen attitude, Shuri still has a huge level of love and respect for her brother and Wakanda's people. She aids T'Challa in many conflicts, such as opposing Killmonger's (Michael B. Jordan) usurpation of the throne in Black Panther, removing Vision's (Paul Bettany) Infinity Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, and joining the epic battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame after she and half the universe were snapped out of existence.

So...Is Shuri the Next Black Panther?

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Image via Marvel Studios

In short, yes. Shuri is indeed the next person to take on the mantle of the Black Panther. This may not come as a huge shock to those who saw the most recent footage, which showcased a female Black Panther suit and the use of her signature arm blasters seen in the first film, but as we see in Wakanda Forever, it takes quite some time before Shuri decides to continue her father and brother's legacies.

Shuri's Reaction to T'Challa's Illness

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Image via Marvel

Shuri and the rest of her family were as shocked as everyone else in the MCU when T'Challa fell sick as the result of a mysterious illness. One would think that with Wakanda being years far in advance, saving the king would be a simple affair, but whatever this illness was, it was enough for T'Challa to succumb to it. Shuri was leading the effort to find a way to save her brother, even going as far to launch an ambitious last-ditch effort to recreate the heart-shaped herb - the Vibranium-infused plant that grants the Black Panther their miraculous abilities of enhanced strength, agility, and more. All samples of the plant were destroyed in an act of selfish protection by Killmonger in the previous film, and Shuri's ability to recreate it simply wasn't at the level to yield results.

When T'Challa passes, so does Shuri's hope to recreate the plant, making it so there may never be another person to wear the Black Panther mantle again. She falls into a deep depression that her mother, Queen Ramonda, tries to get her out of. The Queen ultimately is the one to inspire Shuri and get her out of this downward spiral of depression and sadness, but not in the way either of them expected or wanted. In a cruel and daring assault from Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) and the Talokanil, Queen Ramonda is killed whilst saving Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), but Shuri refuses to let the sacrifice of her last living family member be in vain.

RELATED: Ryan Coogler Says Chadwick Boseman Was "A Trailblazer" When It Came to Creating Wakanda and King T'Challa

Shuri Recreates the Heart-Shaped Herb

The scene in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where a Talokail braids Vibranium into a bracelet
Image via Marvel Studios

Earlier in the film, Shuri had failed peace talks with Namor, though the Ocean king did offer her a bracelet made of their own sacred miracle plant in good faith. That plant winds up being the key to bringing the heart-shaped herb back to life, and she successfully recreates the herb and ingests it herself. After unexpectedly meeting her dear homicidal cousin Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane afterlife, Shuri awakes with enhanced superhuman abilities, using what she had available to her in her lab to fashion her very own Black Panther suit.

However, becoming the Black Panther is only a small part of Shuri's journey. As of now, Shuri didn't become the Black Panther out of duty-bound honor, but out of a thirst for revenge, desiring to kill Namor for the suffering of her nation and the death of her mother. That's exactly why the person she saw in the Ancestral Plane was Killmonger. In killing Namor, Shuri runs the risk of becoming just like Killmonger, in addition to potentially starting an endless war with an enemy they can't possibly defeat. In the end, Shuri spares Namor and the two reclusive nations are able to finally find peace (for now).

Will Shuri Remain Black Panther or Leader of Wakanda?

Letitia Wright as Shuri in the Throne Room in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Image via Marvel Studios

Now that Wakanda has its protector back should it need her, many would expect Shuri to begin her reign as Queen of the nation, and yet, she refuses. Instead, she relegates this duty of ruling Wakanda to M'Baku (Winston Duke), while she instead decides to leave the nation for the time being and visit Nakia in Haiti. It's there she's in for the shock of her life, that Nakia and T'Challa had a child of their own, showing that the Shuri is no longer the last of her line.

The film's end credits message stating that the Black Panther will return likely means we will see Shuri again by the end of the Multiverse Saga, but in the unlikely chance we don't, she can rest easy knowing that the legacy of the Black Panther is secure with a descendant to take her place and plenty of heart-shaped herbs available for the next ruler of Wakanda.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters now!

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