Black Panther: Letitia Wright Explains Her Take On Princess Shuri

07/25/2017 01:49 pm EDT

Black Panther is headed to theaters in February and it'll have not one but two Marvel Comics Black Panthers among its cast of characters.

Chadwick Boseman made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as T'Challa in Captain America: Civil War, but Black Panther will be the live-action debut of Letitia Wright as Shuri. In the Marvel Comics universe, Shuri becomes the Black Panther for a time and, as Wright explained to ComicBook.com at Comic-Con International: San Diego, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character is every bit as capable.

"I play Princess Shuri and she is the younger sister of King T'Challa and she is super smart, super intelligent, innovative," Wright says. "She studied with vibranium all of her life. She used vibranium and manipulated it in a way that it can be able to be even more powerful. She puts this into the armor. She puts it into the weaponry that we see and that you will see February 16 in the film. She's just a smart kid."

Black Panther deals with the fallout of the death of King T'Chaka in Captain America: Civil War and how that destabilizes the nation of Wakanda. It also has an effect on T'Chaka's children, though it may not be obvious coming from Shuri.

"Black Panther takes place right after Captain America: Civil War and all of that tragedy," Wright explains. "But, in terms of Shuri, she's someone that doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve. She uses that to motivate her to create weapons and protection for her family that's beyond explanation or beyond comparison because she doesn't want to have a loss again. So she's going to do whatever it takes to protect her family."

While she may not be the most emotionally outgoing character, Shuri's relationship with her brother is definitely in play in the movie.

"There's many moments in the film," Wright says. "It's just like a big brother, little sister thing. It's constant. In everyday life for them it's constant. Constantly him teaching her and constantly him being inspired by her. So it's a back and forth thing that's beautiful to explore on screen, so I'm excited for you guys to see that."

Black Panther currently has a 4.03 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating making it the sixth most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know how much you're looking forward to Black Panther by giving it your own personal ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating Below.

Marvel Studios' Black Panther follows T'Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler from a screenplay by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole. Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.

Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16, 2018.

More Black Panther News: How Black Panther Is Different From Other Marvel Movies / What Black Panther Has In Common With The X-Men Movies / New Black Panther Poster Revealed / Black Panther Comic-Con Footage Description

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