No./17 Who will rule Wakanda next?
Filming has begun on Black Panther 2 — but with Chadwick Boseman’s tragic absence, it’s not clear which character might be on the throne. Three Empire writers make their pitch
SHURI BEN TRAVIS, ONLINE DEPUTY EDITOR
While Chadwick Boseman was the shining light at the heart of Black Panther, Letitia Wright shone nearly as brightly as T’challa’s geniusminded little sister, Shuri — and if the Black Panther mantle does continue, she’d be a worthy successor. Not only would Shuri make sense as the next person in the family lineage, but she was clearly aligned with T’challa’s new mission come the film’s end: to open up the resources of Wakanda to the rest of the world and spread the wealth of knowledge. All that, and she can make her own tech too. What better way to bring the incredible women of Black Panther to the forefront than to have Shuri take on her brother’s legacy, while continuing her own?
M’BAKU AMON WARMANN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
When Thanos snapped away half the universe at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, there was one warrior who didn’t vanish from Wakanda’s battlefield — M’baku (Winston Duke). T’challa’s one-time challenger has been on quite the journey in his three MCU appearances: first, he earned his King’s thanks and respect after helping T’challa recover from fatal wounds rather than take the throne for himself. And then he was on the frontline right alongside Captain America and co in Avengers: Endgame’s iconic final battle. After years spent watching and listening from the mountains, Black Panther ended with M’baku becoming part of T’challa’s inner circle. In T’challa and Shuri’s five-year absence, there is no man better suited to rule than the leader of the Jabari tribe.
NAKIA CHRIS HEWITT, RE.VIEW EDITOR
The order of succession to the throne of Wakanda appears to be one of lineal descent. But T’challa was a progressive ruler. There’s every chance that he may have rewritten the rulebook for the next ruler to be democratically chosen, or handed over to a spouse, rather than a sibling. Which might open the door for Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. She was as instrumental as anyone in pushing T’challa into making unorthodox choices and, while she based herself in America at the end of the first movie, longdistance relationships can work. So, if the two got married in-between movies, she’d be my choice for a Queen who could really drag Wakanda further into
the open.