Originally published June 8, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
Marvel Studios has become well-known for assembling star-studded casts for each of its productions, and by the look of it, the company’s first movie of 2018, Black Panther, will be no exception. However, in a cast that includes such heavy hitters as Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and many more, some lesser-known but equally talented actors could get lost in the shuffle. So, while Letitia Wright’s name may not jump out at you now, this time next year could tell a different story depending on the success of the MCU’s eighteenth outing.
In a recent profile with Interview Magazine, Wright, best known for her work on Humans and Doctor Who, spilled the beans about Shuri, her character in Black Panther. The actress stated, “She’s princess of Wakanda, but also she designs all of the new technology there. She has an innovative spirit and an innovative mind, and she wants to take Wakanda to a new place. Also, she has a great fashion sense, better than mine. She’s so vibrant; a beautiful spirit, but also so focused on what she does. And that’s good for other people to see, especially young people to see, because it’s like, ‘Look, there’s a young black girl who loves technology and she’s from Africa.’ It’s something refreshing.”
Shuri is King T’Challa/Black Panther’s half-sister (King T’Chaka’s daughter), and in the comics, she eventually succeeds T’Challa on the throne of Wakanda and in taking on the title of Black Panther. While it feels like Boseman has barely even begun to play Black Panther (having only appeared in Captain America: Civil War so far), Marvel has a tendency to plan ahead, and Wright’s Shuri could be the future of the MCU.
Wright’s comments indicate that she is especially attuned to the cultural significance of her role in what has the potential to be a movie of major cultural importance, seeing as how it’s the first MCU movie with a black lead and predominantly black cast.
The actress is set to appear in Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Commuter and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One in 2018; she has also been rumoured to have a role in Avengers: Infinity War, like her Black Panther co-stars, Boseman and Winston Duke.
“Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.
Black Panther sees Ryan Coogler (Creed) directing Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa alongside Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Nakia, Michael B. Jordan (Fantastic Four) as Erik Killmonger, Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead) as Okoye, Winston Duke (Person of Interest) as M’Baku, Forest Whitaker (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Zuri, Daniel Kaluuya (Black Mirror) as W’Kabi, Angela Bassett (American Horror Story) as Ramonda, Florence Kasumba (Captain America: Civil War) as Ayo, Martin Freeman (Captain America: Civil War) as Everett Ross, Andy Serkis (Captain America: Civil War) as Ulysses Klaue and Letitia Wright (Ready Player One) as Shuri. The film is set for release on February 16th, 2018.
