'Avengers 4' Theory Suggests Shuri Could Be the Key to Victory

While the most popular Avengers 4 fan theories suggest that Ant-Man learns how to travel through time or the Quantum Realm, or Doctor Strange messing around with the Time Stone, a new theory hints at Black Panther's younger sister Shuri being the key to victory for Earth's mightiest heroes.

A Reddit user by the name of hockeytalkie took to the r/FanTheories subreddit over the weekend, and delivered a unique theory that hasn't been explored quite yet. In this imagined version of Avengers 4, Shuri goes on to take the mantle of the Black Panther after the loss of T'Challa, and her introduction ceremony leads to a major discovery.

Remember in Black Panther, when both T'Challa and Killmonger each become king? They are sent on a journey to the Ancestral Plane where they meet with their dead relatives of generations before. As this new theory suggests, Shuri will go through this process, but she won't find who it is she's looking for.

Yes, the Heart-Shaped Herbs were basically all destroyed by Killmonger in the middle of Black Panther, but it's been established that Shuri is far and away the most intelligent character in the MCU. It isn't a stretch to think that she could either recreate this plant, or somehow find a way to travel to the Ancestral Plane.

When she gets there, she'll obviously be looking for T'Challa, trying to figure it out what happened to her tragically departed brother. However, T'Challa won't be anywhere to be found, as he's not actually dead. At least, not in the traditional sense.

Thanos mentions that the life that he eliminates won't be killed, but instead they will just "simply cease to exist." This of course has lead to speculation that none of the beings that were snapped away are actually dead, and many theories suggest that they are all trapped inside the Soul Stone. This is where the Shuri theory brings everything full circle.

When Shuri realizes that T'Challa isn't in the Ancestral Plane, she'll understand that he's not actually dead, and that there remains a way for him to get brought back. It's this epiphany that gets the Avengers back together and gives them a reason to try and investigate where their fallen loved ones actually are.

There could easily be some holes in this theory, especially when you consider that it all hinges on Shuri finding a way back to the Ancestral Plane without any existing Heart-Shaped Herbs. But it's still fun to think about such a great character being at the center of the Avengers 4 story, and recent reports of reshoots adding more Wakanda scenes definitely help with the speculation.

What do you think of this new Avengers 4 theory? Let us know in the comments!

Avengers 4 is set to arrive in theaters on May 3, 2019.