Exclusive: Letitia Wright’s Future As Black Panther In Danger

We've exclusively worried that Marvel is worried about Letitia Wright's Black Panther future.

By Faith McKay | Updated 3 months ago

Update November 11, 2022: Letitia Wright’s role in Black Panther Wakanda Forever and the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have been in danger for awhile. But it looks like she will continue as as Black Panther going forward.

Black Panther was a huge win for Marvel at the box office and with critics. A sequel was pretty much required after they passed the billion-dollar mark with their worldwide take. The tragic passing of lead actor Chadwick Boseman complicated matters though. To keep the movies going, whoever takes over the lead role in the sequel is going to need to be an actor that the studio has confidence can carry the story going forward. Now, our trusted and proven inside sources have shared that Marvel has some concerns about actress Letitia Wright, and they’re making backup plans as they prepare for the worst.

Our source shared that Marvel has concerns about Letitia Wright’s views and the way she shares them. As they have bet on her as the next Black Panther, they are starting to feel the need for a backup plan and are already putting one into place in case they will need to replace the actress.

We were unable to confirm what those backup plans entail. It would seem that this means they have built elements into the story for Black Panther 2 that could make it easier for them to replace Letitia Wright in case that proves necessary.

For some background information, Letitia Wright plays Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character has been a fan favorite. She’s been called the most promising Marvel character in a long time. Reviews like that made her a natural choice to replace T’Challa as Black Panther. However, months ago, the actress gained a lot of attention after she shared a post that was reportedly skeptical of the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. At first, she responded to the possible laughing about how people who have different opinions get canceled. She then followed up by deleting the initial controversial post and publicly apologizing, saying that she didn’t intend to hurt anyone, only raise questions. Letitia Wright did publicly apologize afterward. Now, reports say that the actress has been sharing anti-vaccination views on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the upcoming Marvel sequel.

It’s going to be interesting to see if it’s easy to tell what the backup plan is when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases. A backup plan sounds like something that would influence the story, which also sounds like another hurdle for this sequel to get over, which is unfortunate. This could be adjusted for in a fairly subtle way. For example, it could mean that as Letitia Wright’s character comes to prominence in the movie, the characters also mention future plans for ways to handle the Black Panther mantle, which would make it easier to pass that along in a future film if necessary. It could also mean establishing that Shuri has other roles that could take her away from the main story. These kinds of little fail-safes in the movie would make her character more easily removed should things go poorly.

Unfortunately, one side effect of cancel culture is that studios like Marvel will have to have backup plans. Betting their sequels on one actor puts them in a tough position. Hopefully, things will move forward smoothly with Letitia Wright in Black Panther 2 and backup plans won’t be needed so fans can see the full original plan for Shuri.