Letitia Wright's Shuri became the new Black Panther in Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the movie also set up her possible replacement in the role, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fifth Black Panther likely coming sooner rather than later. Shuri did not want to take on the mantle originally, as her recently deceased brother, T'Challa, had been the last one to serve as Wakanda's protector, Black Panther. Shuri went through quite the journey in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which led her to potentially become one of the MCU's best heroes.

Shuri had to step up to defend Wakanda and Riri Williams from Namor and the underwater nation of Talokan. Shuri managed to overcome deep emotional trauma from both her brother's death and her mother's demise, with Queen Ramonda dying to save Riri in the film. In the end, Shuri became a fantastic Black Panther, achieving a truce between Wakanda and Talokan. Despite Shuri growing into a perfect Black Panther, the movie did set up her possible MCU replacement. And Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's teased character is not the only one who could take on the mantle in the future.

Black Panther 2's Post-Credits Scene Set Up A New Hero

T'Challa and Nakia's son Toussaint in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a very emotional movie, as the MCU film had to deal with the real grief that the cast and crew, as well as MCU fans, felt over the passing of original Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman. Marvel decided not to recast the role, instead passing on T'Challa's mantle as the Black Panther to Shuri. While Boseman could not appear in the movie, as the actor died before filming had begun, T'Challa's presence was felt throughout the film.

No other moment in the movie was more significant to T'Challa's MCU role than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's post-credits scene. The moment was one of the most special in MCU history, with the post-credits scene having Shuri meet a kid like no other — her brother T'Challa's son, Toussaint. The movie would reveal that Toussaint was merely the kid's Haitian name, with his Wakandan name being T'Challa, just like his father. The scene set up the perfect way for the MCU to still have T'Challa be Black Panther while not directly recasting Boseman, even if Marvel has to wait a few years for the character to grow up.

Other Characters Who Could Become Black Panther In The MCU

Split Image of Characters Posters From Black Panther Of M'Baku, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye

While Shuri is the current Black Panther and the young T'Challa is destined to grow into the superhero role, the two characters are far from the only options to play Black Panther in the MCU's future. Before Shuri decided not to attend the ceremony that would have crowned her the new Queen of Wakanda, the Black Panther was both Wakanda's protector and its ruler. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's ending saw M'Baku seemingly emerge as the new King of Wakanda, which might lead to the character picking up the Black Panther mantle along the way to merge the two roles as they once were.

Other possible options to continue the Black Panther legacy should Shuri decide to step down or become incapable of continuing the role already exist. Nakia has shown over the two Black Panther movies that she is more than capable as a fighter to bear the mantle. Lupita Nyong'o's character could serve as a two-person Black Panther team with her son, T'Challa, in the future. Alternately, Danai Gurira's Okoye is no longer in charge of leading the Dora Milaje, with the character being free to take on the Black Panther role should the situation ask for it.

Why Shuri Might Pass On The Black Panther Mantle

shuri as the black panther in the mcu

For any other Wakandan to take on the role of Black Panther, the current bearer of the title, Shuri, would first need to step down. As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever displayed, Shuri's time as Black Panther in the MCU is just starting. The character had a full arc of having to let go of her anger over her brother's death in order to be able to grieve and heal. By the end of the movie, Shuri decides to pass on the chance of following her mother as the new Queen of Wakanda, instead only serving the nation as the Black Panther.

It would take a lot for Shuri to step down as Black Panther, with the character wanting to honor her brother. One possibility would be for Shuri to let M'Baku take on the role in the future, so the new King of Wakanda could unify both roles as they were under T'Challa. However, that is not necessary, as T'Challa first served as Black Panther while his father, T'Chaka, was still the king. The most likely option for Shuri to give up being Black Panther is for her to pass on the role to her nephew when he becomes an adult. The young T'Challa will likely be Black Panther one day.

The Multiverse Can Introduce A New Black Panther

what if had a variety of black panthers in the mcu

If Shuri does decide to step down from the role in the future or is killed in action, the MCU could use its current Multiverse Saga to explain how another Black Panther could come to be. Marvel Studios' animated Disney+ series What If...? presented a big foray through alternative universes, with the show giving a look at some versions of Black Panther along the way. There was a T'Challa who became Star-Lord, another who was trapped in a world riddled with zombies, and the most important version — only it was not T'Challa.

What If...? showed a world where Killmonger killed T'Challa and became the new Black Panther. He eventually was called to be part of the Guardians of the Multiverse, but Killmonger betrayed the team and attempted to control the Infinity Stones before being trapped in a pocket dimension. Given the popularity of Killmonger actor Michael B. Jordan, a friendly multiverse version of the character could appear in a future MCU project, deciding to stay in the main universe and serve as the Black Panther or perhaps one of the Black Panthers in the MCU.

Marvel could also decide to provide an even more emotional moment than a good Killmonger variant by bringing in a multiverse version of T'Challa. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was understandably too soon for Marvel to recast T'Challa, but there is still enough chatter in favor of the character being recast even after the movie set up Toussaint. As the new Black Panther, Shuri should be joining Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the battle against the Council of Kangs. One of the two multiversal Avengers movies on the way could put Shuri face-to-face with a variant T'Challa, with whoever is cast taking on the role of the MCU's Black Panther.

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