One Avengers: Doomsday Rumor Debunks A Big Black Panther Theory
There’s no question who embodies the mantle in Doomsday.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever made the best of an unimaginable situation in 2022. With the passing of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe was without a Black Panther, but director Ryan Coogler found a way to bid farewell to his friend and collaborator, all while setting the realm of Wakanda up for its next phase. King T’Challa won’t be recast in the MCU; instead, his younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) will take on his duties as the next Black Panther. Ideally, she’ll get more opportunities in the future, especially with Avengers: Doomsday around the corner. Despite all the potential teased in Wakanda Forever, though, not everyone seems convinced that Shuri is here to stay as the MCU’s new Panther.
Rumors of recasting have swirled around the future Black Panther films for years, with the prevailing theory naming F1 star Damson Idris as the new T’Challa — perhaps from another universe. Others claimed that Idris would play an aged-up version of T’Challa’s young son, Toussaint, who was introduced at the end of Wakanda Forever. Either way, fans don’t seem to appreciate the Black Panther they’ve already been given. Shuri deserves the chance to make the mantle her own, and the franchise deserves some stability. Fortunately, Doomsday directors Anthony and Joe Russo might just agree... at least, according to the latest teaser leak for the upcoming film.
The Black Panther will return in Avengers: Doomsday.
With Doomsday less than a year away, Marvel has gotten the ball rolling on promotion for the new film. Four trailers have been programmed to play ahead of Avatar: Fire & Ash, and the fourth and final trailer is rumored to focus on two major groups: the people of Wakanda and the Fantastic Four. Wakanda is seemingly uniting with the aquatic nation of Talokan and its leader, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), against the threat of Doctor Doom, with the Fantastic Four arriving in their ship to assist.
“I’ve lost everyone that matters to me,” Shuri apparently says in the trailer. “The King has his duties: to prepare our people for the afterlife. I have mine.”
Dressed for battle, Shuri will reportedly board the Fantastic Four’s ship alongside Ben Grimm, aka the Thing (Ebon Moss Bachrach). It sounds like she’s headed straight for the heart of the action while her lieutenant, M’Baku (Winston Duke), will likely stay behind to defend Wakanda. All this is pointing to an exciting, more prominent role for Shuri in the upcoming film. For a story that’s all about the multiverse, time travel, and incursions, there’s every chance that we could see another Black Panther at some point, maybe even one played by Damson Idris. But if these rumors are correct, Shuri will remain the Black Panther of the Sacred Timeline, fighting alongside the other Avengers to save the universe.
