Shuri Udaku...
Marvel Spoilers Ahead (Specifically for Black Panther 1 & 2): This is my TEDTalk on people playing on Shuri's top, just needed somewhere for my thoughts to rest. It's long but you already knew that by now.
I'll start by noting that yes, there are rumors that there will be a second Black Panther featured in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie set to be released December 2026. Doomsday will feature multiverse characters so the thought of another Black Panther being featured isn't that surprising. I understand that this would naturally cause people to speculate regarding what actor would serve as this other Black Panther. I have no major qualms with this aspect of the conversation but there is a little more at play here for me.
I'm disheartened by the conversation regarding who would play the next Black Panther to replace Shuri and this recent rumor lies on the fringes of that conversation. The conversation regarding who would play the next Black Panther really started following the death of the beloved Chadwick Boseman in 2020. At the time, I thought that either Queen Ramonda or Shuri would likely be the next Black Panther; I did some research and found out that in the comicverse Shuri had been the Black Panther at some point. The movie also showed us that the Black Panther and ruler of Wakanda don't have to be the same person. We understand that King T'Chaka is no longer the Black Panther, T'Challa is, when the king is murdered in Captain America: Civil War. So, imagine my surprise when I started seeing fan commentary on Shuri somehow being an impossible choice and that T'challa must be recasted via fan commentary. But I understood that there were feelings attached to T'Challa the character; so I didn't think too much of it. Ultimately it wouldn't really matter because the screenwriters and producers would decide the storyline.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was considered a financial success, second highest grossing movie of 2022 and apparently the highest grossing movie premiered in November of all time. So, imagine my surprise when I got online and found negative commentary left and right; I was so confused! The movie was tragic in a way but also hopeful in its' own right considering the themes of the movie. It's heavy but meaningful and a beautiful way of honoring Chadwick and his version of T'Challa. I felt it was a masterpiece and still do but couldn't reconcile what I was seeing in the commentary space, tumblr, youtube, etc. According to the commentary, BPWF was a box office flop (not true), was not well accepted by audiences (not true) and one of the MCU's worst movies (not true). The way people vilified BPWF was unbelievable and will never beat the misogynistic allegations from me.
It became clear that there were issues beyond the feelings of loss regarding Chadwick/T'challa in how the movie was received. I started seeing majority of the complaints for the movie being too, "female centric," and said female characters were being, "too overly emotional." How original. Does the movie explore a heavy theme like grief/loss very directly? Yes. Would I call the movie an emotional movie? Sure. Would I say that Shuri, Ramonda, Nakia, RiRi or even Okoye were overly emotional given the circumstances their respective characters were in? No. Flat-out, No. I'd say that all of their circumstances are relatable in some way to people of all genders considering loss of a child/sibling/lover, a life-long career, betrayal, imposter syndrome/inadequacy, safety risk, systemic oppression, etc. It felt like there were people being purposely obtuse when it came to the movie because the characters experiencing these themes were women. In addition, these were particularly Black women and we know that Black women in media are not allowed to have their own agency, are not viewed as victims, or in need of assistance. But we've watched Thor, Tony Stark, and Bucky Barnes experience these same themes and no one called them overly emotional.
There was a very loud part of the audience that didn't like Shuri as Black Panther not because she wasn't a genius scientist/inventor, not because we watched her become worthy of it over the course of the movie or any previous connections to her as a character. The issue was that Shuri was a young Black woman with access, intelligence, and agency and they couldn't look past their misogynoir to appreciate the movie nor Shuri as a character. They deemed Shuri as too emotional because she was a experiencing human emotion and therefore seen as weak and worthy of dismissal. Over the course of the movie, Shuri is grieving the unexpected death of her older brother and murder of her mother, in real time. Her entire family is gone and she is all that is left and expected to be ruler/black panther and y'all were mad because she cried about it? The movie was terrible because we watched a character you claimed to love, die, be mourned and then succeeded by his only sister? She literally goes through the stages of grief in the movie. But that wasn't even the main issue.
There were complaints coupled with, "they should've kept Killmonger, he would have been a better Black Panther," or "Why didn't they create another brother and get someone who looks like Chadwick." Oh. They weren't mad that the movie was emotional, they were mad that they were having to relate to Shuri, a female character, and the would be coveted Black Panther. I'll also add that Shuri wasn't presented in a way to appeal to the male gaze, shout out to Ruth E. Carter, because at no point was Shuri presented in a sexual manner. She's beautiful, her style is impeccable and fits her body type which I loved! Shuri was clearly not the 16-18 year old we knew but a young woman in her early 20s. We don't get to put Shuri in any particular box. She's experiencing emotion in line with her life events, her clothing although beautiful and stylish are functional for her work, she is beautiful and enters a room with her intelligence and wit - always!
Yet, the moment BPWF was done I was seeing comments about who the next Black Panther should be...what?! We just secured Shuri as the Black Panther and y'all are discussing which actor, not even actor/actress, would replace her? She just started. Clearly, some people only saw Shuri as a placeholder as a means to end until the next T'Challa (Toussaint) gets older and that is disheartening. This doomsday rumor is just another way for people to cushion their dislike for Shuri with this topic and it's not getting by me this time! There have been no news or leaks that Shuri will not make it out of Avengers: Doomsday and this conversation clearly predates anything Doomsday related. I think it's very strange that so many people are either fancasting a new Black Panther or entertaining T'Challa recast ideas as though we have NO Black Panther. "This other Black Panther can be the NEW Black Panther in Black Panther 3" - Oh yeah?! And where is Shuri going? Hmmmm? Shuri is literally the last anchor in the Udaku family that we know as an audience, a literal Matriarch; we won't know when Toussaint's existence will even be brought up let alone have him take the BP mantle. Thus, unless Shuri DIES or chooses to hand over the mantle, she is Earth 616's Black Panther, PERIOD.
Shuri still has time to further solidify herself as the Black Panther in the wider MCU amongst the other heroes cementing her character in MCU History. We saw what she was able to do starting out in BPWF and I think T'Challa and Queen Ramonda would've been proud of what she was able to accomplish. I really hope that there is more of Shuri for us to enjoy in the MCU and I look forward to seeing Shuri, the Black Panther, in the upcoming Avengers movieS as well as Black Panther 3.
