The full suit design for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new Black Panther, who is set to debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has been revealed.
An image shared on Reddit provided a look at several new Funko! Pops, including one for the new Black Panther. Previously, only part of the black-and-gold suit was shown in Wakanda Forever's first trailer and, while the identity of the hero remains unconfirmed, the mask of the costume exactly matches the face paint design worn by Letitia Wright's Shuri in the MCU.
Wright has portrayed Shuri, the younger sister of the late Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa/Black Panther, in the MCU since 2018's Black Panther. The first teaser trailer for Wakanda Forever introduced Tenoch Huerta as Namor the Sub-Mariner, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart and teased a new hero to take up the Black Panther mantle. The identity of the new Black Panther is unknown, though there has been speculation that Wright will be the one beneath the mask. Wright was asked about her potential new role in the MCU during San Diego Comic-Con 2022. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "But November 11, you get your ticket."
Is Shuri the Next Black Panther?
In a recent interview, Wright revealed that she had discussed portraying the titular hero early in her Marvel career with director Ryan Coogler and Boseman. "I had a chat about it with Ryan and Chad when we were making Black Panther, and we touched on it briefly," she said when asked whether Shuri would take on the mantle of Black Panther, as the character has in Marvel Comics. "When I realized I was playing Shuri, it was something that I really looked forward to."
Wakanda Forever began filming in Atlanta, GA on June 29, 2021, but production has paused several times since then due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The film serves as a sequel to 2018's Black Panther, which starred the late Boseman as King T'Challa/Black Panther. Wakanda Forever's plot was restructured following Boseman's death in 2020. "It's clearly very emotional without Chad," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said shortly before Wakanda Forever began production. "But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans. We're going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud."
Along with Wright, the Black Panther sequel will see Angela Bassett reprise her role as Queen Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross. An official synopsis released by Marvel following the trailer debut revealed that Wakanda Forever will follow these characters as they "fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death." The film also stars Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
Source: Reddit