What the Ending of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Could Mean for Shuri

Avengers: Infinity War took the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a whole new direction — and there’s a chance that it could have a lasting effect on one character.

Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War below! Only look if you want to know!

The third act of Avengers: Infinity War saw many of the MCU’s heroes traveling to Wakanda, as a sort of last-ditch effort to protect Vision (Paul Bettany) and the Mind Stone from Thanos (Josh Brolin). This reunited audiences with some of the fan-favorites seen in Black Panther, including Shuri (Letitia Wright), the kid sister of T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).

While Shuriplayed a relatively small role in the film, largely trying to separate Vision from the Mind Stone, her presence in the “Battle of Wakanda” is still an interesting one — particularly with how the film ends. As plenty of fans know by now, the film ends with what has been deemed “The Snappening”, where half of the MCU was erased from existence after Thanos snapped his fingers. While it’s unclear if Shuri ended up being among those who disappeared, we know that T’Challa was — which could create an interesting opportunity in Avengers 4.

Almost before Black Panther premiered, fans had wondered exactly how Shuri’s story would unfold, and if she would end up taking on the titular mantle like she did in the comics. While the solo film complicated things a little bit, it certainly didn’t rule out Shuri finding a way to become the Black Panther in T’Challa’s absence.

“That’s the kindest thing an interviewer has ever asked me,” Wright told ComicBook.com upon Black Panther‘s release. “I hope, whenever the time is right, if it’s meant to happen, I would happily do it. But you can’t have a Shuri movie without T’Challa and you can’t have a Shuri movie without Ramonda and Nakia and the rest of the Dora Milaje and Okoye. So, I guess, the question is: when can we have Black Panther 2?”

“If that’s meant to happen then why not?” Wright continued. “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.”

So, could we see that happen in Avengers 4? As some have begun to speculate, T’Challa’s tragic disappearance could certainly justify Shuri taking on the role over the course of the movie, even if T’Challa most likely returns for the proposed Black Panther sequel. While an argument could be made that Shuri taking on the mantle should happen over the Black Panther franchise, the “expect the unexpected” mentality for Avengers 4 means that it could be in the cards.

Would you like to see Shuri take on the Black Panther mantle in Avengers 4? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.