'Black Panther' Star Letitia Wright Confirmed to Return for Sequel

Black Panther 2 might still be a ways away, but we may have just learned the first cast member who is confirmed to return.

A recent report from Deadline, which announced Letitia Wright and John Boyega's casting in Hold Back the Stars, included a particularly interesting footnote with regards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the report reveals, Wright "will reprise [her role as Shuri] in the Black Panther sequel and most recently wrapped the Avengers film coming next summer."

For some Marvel fans, this will surely be a surprise, as Shuri was one of the few Marvel characters whose fate was left up in the air at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. While Shuri did play a role in that film - attempting to help sever Vision's connection the Mind Stone - she wasn't shown in the massive montage of characters fading or not fading into dust.

Granted, this Avengers 4 and Black Panther 2 news might not entirely spell out Shuri's Avengers: Infinity War fate, but it does hint that audiences haven't seen the last of her in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And this news will probably support the ever-growing theory that Shuri could suit up as the Black Panther - especially now that her brother, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), was one of Thanos' casualties.

"If that's meant to happen then why not?" Wright told ComicBook.com earlier this year. "But my thing is: where we meet her now in the Marvel Universe, she's young, she's preparing, she's just into technology, she's creating, she's just really fun and really focused on that. So, if that's meant to happen, then cool, but at the moments, hey, man, Chadwick [Boseman] is killing as Black Panther! I'm happy to help out with the gadgets for now. If that's meant to be, it'll be, but he's amazing as Black Panther."

"We know there's a ton more story to tell in Wakanda because even in the two hours we had there were ideas we left on the table just because of time," MCU producer Nate Moore told ComicBook.com after Avengers: Infinity War. "And the good news is, because ultimately we have a good insight on what all the films are doing, we knew what Infinity War and what Avengers 4 next year will do and are able to sort of plan accordingly. So, I think there are great stories that will feel like the necessary next storytelling beat from what you've seen in Black Panther, but also carry the ball forward from what happened, the very real thing that happened at the end of Avengers 3 and what will again happen next May. So it's all been planned out to as much as we plan anything out frankly, with room for great ideas to come and surprise us, but we're excited. There's still a ton of story left to tell."

Are you excited to see Shuri return in Avengers 4 and Black Panther 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp are now available on digital platforms, DVD, and Blu-ray. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019; the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019; and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.