There was a lot of debate and speculation about how Marvel Studios planned to proceed with a sequel to Black Panther following the tragic death of star Chadwick Boseman, and the decision was ultimately made to forge ahead with Wakanda Forever and have another character take up the mantle.
T'Challa's little sister always seemed like the most obvious choice (though others were rumored), and while Marvel did a pretty good job of keeping the reveal out of the various trailers and TV spots, Shuri (Letitia Wright) ended up honouring her late brother and mother (Angela Bassett) by suiting-up as Wakanda's new protector.
The movie concludes with Shuri meeting her nephew, the son T'Challa had with Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), and finally allowing herself to stop mourning her brother's death by burning her funeral robes.
Though T'Challa Jr. (Divine Love Konadu-Sun) will likely grow to take up his father's mantle and possibly even rule Wakanda as king, Shuri is still the MCU's current Black Panther, and Wright has now indicated that we will see her character again soon - in more than just one project.
Wright was asked if we can expect to see Shuri in one of the upcoming Avengers movies and/or Black Panther 3 during an appearance on The View.
"If it's, uh, let's just say, let's just say..." Wright responded, pausing to choose her words carefully. "I would like to continue with Shuri. She's one of my favorite characters, such a blessing, honestly, I kid you not. I'm so grateful for her."
"There's a lot coming up," she added with a smile.
A third Black Panther movie has yet to be officially green-lit, but director Ryan Coogler has signed a multi-year deal with Marvel Studios to work on a number of projects, so we'd say it's only a matter of time before we get an announcement.
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, and Alex Livanalli.