Black Panther: Letitia Wright Describes Shuri's Role

Next year, moviegoers around the world will get to know one of Marvel’s most famous heroes even [...]

By Megan Peters - June 7, 2017 08:16 pm EDT

Next year, moviegoers around the world will get to know one of Marvel's most famous heroes even better. The Black Panther is set to get a standalone film in 2018, and the feature totes a star-studded cast. Chadwick Boseman will reprise his role as T'Challa while other stars like Michael B. Jordan and Angela Bassett make their MCU debuts. Now, one of the film's younger stars is speaking up about her role as Shuri, and it will have fans everywhere swooning over the Wakandan princess.

In a recent chat with Interview Magazine, Letitia Wright opened up about her coveted Black Panther role. The up-and-coming actress will play Shuri, the half-sister to T'Challa. During her talk, Wright admitted she was not familiar with Shuri but that she's since become her biggest fan.

"I wasn't really into comics, but I started to get more into it as I was auditioning. And then I realized Shuri, my character, has such a major arc in the comic books. To see a female character in that position is amazing. So I was like, "Where have I been all these years?" To be able to play that character has been such a blessing."

As for Shuri's role in Black Panther, Wright describes the princess as innovative and fashionable. Oh, and she's a role model - there's also that.

"She's princess of Wakanda, but also she designs all of the new technology there. She has an innovative spirit and an innovative mind, and she wants to take Wakanda to a new place. Also, she has a great fashion sense, better than mine," Wright explained.

"She's so vibrant; a beautiful spirit, but also so focused on what she does. And that's good for other people to see, especially young people to see, because it's like, "Look, there's a young black girl who loves technology and she's from Africa." It's something refreshing."

After the events of Marvel's Captain America: Civil War, King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakanadan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

The film stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira , Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. Additional cast members include Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Sterling K. Brown, and John Kani.