The first Wakanda Forever trailer has been revealed, providing the first look at the upcoming Black Panther 2. The sequel will seemingly feature a new character taking on the mantle of the titular hero following the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who portrayed T’Challa. But who is playing Black Panther in the sequel? With rumors circulating that Shuri could be taking over from her brother or that Killmonger could rise from the dead, let’s take a look at the leading candidates.
Spoiler Warning: Some of the following information has been taken from alleged leaks — while those leaks have not been verified, those adverse to spoilers may want to look away!
Is Killmonger Black Panther in Wakanda Forever?
Killmonger seemingly died in the first Black Panther film, though you should never say never when it comes to a comic book character returning from the dead. With the multiverse having now been introduced, and an alternate universe of Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger character having already been seen in the animated series What If…?, it certainly isn’t out of the question that he’ll come back.
However, according to leakers, Killmonger won’t be the next Black Panther — he will instead help Shuri take up the mantle. Shuri (Letitia Wright) will reportedly recreate the heart-shaped herb in a lab, with her expecting to see T’Challa in the ancestral plane. However, she will instead find Killmonger, who will help her train to become the new Black Panther.
In #BlackPantherWakandaForever Shuri creates an artificial flower to gain the powers of Black Panther and conquer the ancestral plane. She expects T'Challa but meets Killmonger, he helps her become the new Black Panther. Shuri creates her own Black Panther costume#MarvelStudios pic.twitter.com/WBUYmW2BwM
— Marvel Updates (@marvel_updat3s) July 13, 2022
Which begs the question…
Is Shuri the new Black Panther?
Many signs point to Shuri becoming the Black Panther in Wakanda Forever. That’s what happens in the comics, and it’s an obvious direction for the sequel to go in given her superior intelligence, skillset, and relation to T’Challa.
However, it isn’t set in stone. According to GiantFreakinRobot, Letitia Wright not being vaccinated could cause her to leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given Disney’s vaccine mandates. While Shuri would apparently be the MCU’s first choice, her not abiding by the company’s vaccine mandates would inevitably lead to problems with production, which could see her departing the Black Panther series and the MCU altogether.
According to leakers, this could mean that an unlikely character could take on the mantle…
Is M’Baku going to be the hero in Black Panther 2?
M’Baku (Winston Duke) could reportedly be the next Black Panther, given Letitia Wright’s anti-vaccinations views potentially marking her exit from the MCU. While this would be an unlikely series of events given that M’Baku hasn’t been as prominent as Shuri in Marvel’s films, the character was set up as a strong leader in the original Black Panther film, so still makes a good choice.
But while there are rumors that M’Baku will take over the role, other leaks have suggested that he will instead become Wakanda’s king, briefly take up the Black Panther mantle, before it’s inevitably passed over to Shuri who becomes the definitive Black Panther after her training with Killmonger in the celestral realm.
If all of the above turns out to be true, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a lot to get through. With many already approaching the sequel with hesitancy over how it will handle Chadwick Boseman’s passing, it certainly has a lot to prove — will multiple Black Panthers and a reappearance from Killmonger be enough to satisfy skeptics? We’ll have to wait until its November release to find out.
