USA TODAY International Edition
Letitia Wright is here to school those other movie princesses
Move over, Black Panther: Wakanda’s princess is taking her rightful place as the breakout star of Marvel’s Black Panther.
Although the movie’s titular character is the superpowered alter ego of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the king of Wakanda, his teenage sister Shuri, played by Hollywood newcomer Letitia Wright, is the film’s real force.
Dubbed “the smartest person in the world; smarter than Tony Stark” by executive producer Nate Moore, Shuri is the genius behind some of Wakanda’s most advanced technology and the creator of Black Panther’s suits and gadgets, made from the mythical, nearly indestructible metal known as vibranium.
“I’ve never really seen a character like that in a script before,” Wright says. “I never saw a young black girl being interested in engineering or science or math or wanting to heal people. I saw lots of stereotypes, and that’s clearly why I really wanted to play that part.”
Shuri shows her strengths in the lab as well as on the battlefield, switching seamlessly from jokingly flipping off her older brother to using her tech creations to suit up as a Wakandan warrior.
“These characters exist, but we never see them on the screen, especially the mainstream level,” she says. “It was something really positive, so I wanted to put that out there into the world.”
The 24-year-old actress moved to London from Guyana when she was 7, and attended acting school before scoring roles in British TV and movies. You may have seen Wright in episodes of BBC’s Doctor Who, AMC’s Humans or Netflix’s Black Mirror, or her first major film role in the art-house coming-of-age drama Urban Hymn, but her star is just beginning to fully rise.
Wright continues a massive 2018, with starring roles in May’s Avengers:
Infinity War, and Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi film Ready Player One (March 29).
Fans already are imagining a Shuri spinoff. “In the comic books, she becomes the Black Panther, but I would like to do it where Chadwick is still Black Panther and they can team up,” Wright says. “Anything can happen.
“Maybe we can have an all-female Marvel film. We’ve been talking about it. It’s only a matter of time.”
Wright is focused on getting the messages from Black Panther to the masses.
“The thing that stood out was everyone’s dedication to bringing the story to life,” Wright says. “That spirit of excellence inspired me to bring my A game.”
The movie’s veteran actors also were on hand to give Wright advice on acting, the pressures of fame and the future.
“Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t good enough on set, because I’m surrounded by all these people who are amazingly good,” she says. Director Ryan Coogler “would pull me to the corner and remind me that I’m here for a reason and that I have something to offer.”
From Lupita Nyong’o, Wright says she received advice “about how to handle what will happen when the film comes out” and managing fame.
“Michael B. (Jordan) would give me advice about taking ownership of producing and putting out projects that I want to see, like, not to wait for someone to hand me a project,” Wright says.
She says Angela Bassett gave her a nugget of wisdom: “Aim for longevity instead of quick fame.”
Wright has another goal for her role in the film, touted as a celebration of black womanhood. “My approach is the truth, and aiming for the truth.”