Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta addresses the possibility of a romantic connection between his character Namor and Letitia Wright's Shuri. Director Ryan Coogler returns to helm the sequel to 2018's highly successful Black Panther, which sees the nation of Wakanda mourning the loss of King T'Challa while also dealing with Namor and his underwater kingdom of Talokan. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever features Shuri taking up the mantle of Black Panther, and her character quickly finds herself at odds with Namor and his aggressive approach to securing the safety of his people. The film has been a hit with audiences and critics alike, with particular praise levied at Huerta's layered performance as the MCU's newest antagonist.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Huerta discusses whether there are any romantic elements to the bond between Shuri and Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The two characters are at odds for most of the film's runtime but do seem to understand each other on a deeper level, particularly during a sequence in which Namor takes Shuri to Talokan. Although some fans believe that the two characters have romantic feelings for one another, Huerta isn't necessarily convinced. Check out Huerta's full comment below:

"I don’t feel it was a romantic touch [between them]. I think it was more a human, intimate touch. I mean in the history of their kingdoms, the history of their people, they share the same root, and the threat comes from the same place for both of them, for the same reason. They both face threats from Western countries like the United States and France in the story, because of vibranium, natural resources. I think they connect in that aspect.

I mean, when you meet someone and you have a good relationship, whether this person is the gender that you prefer or not, you always have this ambiguous relationship. It’s normal. It’s human. So, I think this happened with both of them. If that can evolve into a romantic relationship or not? I don’t know. It wasn’t our intention. It could happen or not.

The beautiful part of this relationship is, it doesn’t need to be romantic to be deep. It doesn’t need to be romantic to be beautiful and bright and intimate. And this connection between a man and a woman in different levels doesn’t need, necessarily, to end in a romantic relationship. And that’s beautiful, you know? Because I hate the romantic love. I think it’s poison. [Laughs] These characters, they create something… I don’t know. It was magical, but not necessarily romantic."

Related: Why Shuri Sees That Character On The Ancestral Plane

Why It's Good Namor & Shuri Didn't Have A Romantic Storyline

Letitia Wright as Shuri holding the Black Panther helmet in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

After first being introduced in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther got his very own solo film two years later before then going on to appear in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In 2020, however, Boseman passed away after a secret battle with cancer, which meant Coogler had to completely rework the script for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The new central focus of the script became Shuri dealing with her grief at T'Challa's death, with the character only fully embracing her feelings at the very end of the film. This new direction for Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ultimately leaves little room for a romantic subplot.

Furthermore, despite receiving a generally very warm reception from audiences and critics, one complaint that frequently pops up regarding the film is that it ultimately tries to accomplish too much. In addition to following Shuri and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) as they work through their feelings after the loss of T'Challa, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also needs to set up Namor, his backstory, and his community, which is on top of introducing Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams/Ironheart into the MCU. While there's certainly a complexity to the dynamic between Shuri and Namor, a romance likely would have left the film feeling overstuffed and ultimately unfocused.

It remains to be seen whether Black Panther 3 will get the green light, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's strong performance certainly suggests it might happen. With Shuri now the new Black Panther and the film ending with her fully embracing her grief, future appearances from the character could feature a romantic element. It's unclear what Namor's future in the MCU will be, but it's certainly possible that his relationship with Shuri will be further explored in either the prospective Black Panther 3 or another MCU movie entirely, even if it isn't romantic in nature.

More: Black Panther 2 Repeats An Infinity War Trick To Make Namor More Powerful

Source: Rolling Stone

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