What Happens To Shuri In Black Panther 3?
Exciting as Marvel’s Comic-Con announcement might have been, it doesn’t bode well for the Black Panther.
Cathartic as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might have been, the film introduced a wrinkle that’s been nagging at fans since 2022. The real-life passing of actor Chadwick Boseman forced director Ryan Coogler and his cast to pivot in a very different direction for the Black Panther sequel, pushing Letitia Wright’s Shuri to take on the eponymous mantle. Her journey to live up to the superhero name — and the legacy of her brother, T’Challa (Boseman) — was hard-won, but it made for an excellent story. By the time the credits rolled, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe had a new Black Panther worthy of the title... but the last-minute introduction of T’Challa’s secret son, Toussaint, pulled the rug out from under Shuri and anyone looking forward to more adventures with her as the Black Panther.
Toussaint’s very existence all but confirmed Marvel’s plan for the mantle: Shuri was likely only an interim Black Panther, and would have to pass on the duties to her nephew eventually. That said, Toussaint was just a kid when he appeared in Wakanda Forever, so logically, it’d be some years before he’d be old enough to leap into the line of fire. Unfortunately, the MCU is not really a place for logic. It’s been four years since Wakanda Forever, and though we haven’t seen Shuri in action in all that time, her days as the Black Panther are already numbered.
David Jonsson will be the new Black Panther.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Coogler welcomed the newest member of the Black Panther family to the Hall H stage. Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson will take on the role of a much-older Toussaint in Black Panther 3, and presumably become the next Black Panther. Wright is still set to star alongside Jonsson in the film, as is Winston Duke, whose M’Baku currently sits on the throne of Wakanda.
How Shuri’s very-young nephew will suddenly be played by a strapping 30-year-old man might be the biggest question going into Black Panther 3. The film is set to premiere in 2028, just after Shuri and M’Baku return to the fray in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Marvel president Kevin Feige has teased a total multiversal makeover for the MCU, implying that the events of Secret Wars will reset the Sacred Timeline, bring old characters back, and recast others in new forms. It’s very likely that Jonsson’s Toussaint is from another timeline, allowing Coogler and co. to skip over the tedium and hand over the Black Panther mantle to T’Challa’s son.
On the other hand, Black Panther 3 could simply take place after a major time jump: in some comics, the Heart-Shaped Herb that turns warriors into the Black Panther also slows the aging process, which could allow Shuri and Toussaint to look so close in age.
Shuri’s time as Black Panther isn’t over yet, but it soon could be.
There’s no shortage of ways to explain Toussaint’s growth spurt in Black Panther 3, but it’s still an irritating pivot for those who wanted more longevity in Shuri. As T’Challa’s tech-forward little sister, she was an unorthodox choice to take on the Black Panther title, but that’s also what made her so compelling. Watching her struggle to lead and grapple with her rage and grief made for an incredible coming-of-age story — and at a time where Marvel seems totally disinterested in female-led stories, Shuri felt like one of the last holdouts. Granted, we’ll get to see her in action again in two Avengers movies, but those are notoriously crowded affairs. Shuri will hardly have any time in the spotlight as the Black Panther before Black Panther 3: maybe that’s what the team wants, but with so little build-up between installments, that choice will always feel rushed. The Black Panther saga deserves a hero that will appear for multiple films — instead, each Black Panther film will feature a different warrior behind the mask.
Frustrating as this might be, there is a silver lining: Shuri doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. After Secret Wars, she’ll most likely choose to step down from Black Panther duties and take her rightful place on the Wakandan throne. It’s not ideal, but Coogler and co. are probably doing the best with what they have, and that’s better than most superhero sagas can say.
