Black Panther Wakanda Forever is the most incredibly beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman and his T’Challa while simultaneously moving along its narrative of marginalized groups in an emotionally powerful film. Ryan Coogler meshes heart and vibrancy in film. As action-packed as this film is, it is heavy, and rightfully so. Letitia Wright talked about balancing the emotion as Shuri in Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
Letitia Wright on Balancing the Emotion in Black Panther Wakanda Forever
One of the driving story arcs in Black Panther Wakanda Forever is Shuri’s anger and grief at the loss of her brother, T’Challa, and the juxtaposition between this new Shuri and the Shuri we see in the first Black Panther. In a recent press day, Letitia Wright shared a bit about balancing those emotions and the two versions of Shuri.
(L-R): Danai Gurira as Okoye and Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. Photo by Eli Adé. © 2022 MARVEL.
LETITIA: Firstly, through connecting with Ryan [Coogler], you know, that heart-to-heart conversation of, “How do we take a step forward?” Gentle step forward, ’cause it’s so raw when we spoke. And it was just Ryan talking me through how the different characters, how the world was going to expand a bit.
But also, how we were gonna grow. We all take so much different turns. And Shuri does, too. We meet her in the first film, and she is that ray of sunshine. She’s so clothed and protected in royalty and love. And proud of her big brother for taking the step, following his father’s legacy. And she just wants to create. And I love Shuri in the first one because there was no limit to her, as well.
It was like she was the person her brother went to for his protection, his armor. And he encouraged that. Her family encouraged her to be a genius and to be faithfully and wonderfully made. So, we follow on from that. “What does that look like, when your heart is broken?” And I think it was just Ryan’s guidance on how do we create a full arc of this human being, of this young woman going through something alongside her fellow family members, in general, and Wakandans.
Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
I think the way it was written and the delicacy, the gentleness of how we approached it. We always spoke, we always communicated, at every step of the way. And we were able to bring something that felt real, that felt truthful. And I was able to really give my heart to it and give Shuri a full arc.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. © 2022 MARVEL.
And hopefully, people can really resonate with that and find some healing, you know, alongside us, with it.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever in theatres November 11, 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. © 2022 MARVEL.
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