M’Baku and another character were considered as the new Black Panther

Letitia Wright’s Shuri was not the immediate and obvious choice to become the new Black Panther, says Wakanda Forever scriptwriter Joe Robert Cole. Beware SPOILERS ahead.

It has been almost two weeks since the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the world now knows a new protector of the secret African kingdom. Princess Shuri has taken up the mantle of the Black Panther after recreating the Heart-Shaped Herb in her lab.

However, there were other characters who were also considered as potential replacements for the eponymous superhero when the sequel script had to be overhauled following Chadwick Boseman’s death.

Joe Robert Cole, who co-wrote the script alongside director Ryan Coogler, revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that the possibility of other characters becoming the new Black Panther was tossed around. M’Baku, played by Winston Duke, and Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o, were also in the race to become the next Black Panther.

"We would kick around the ideas, and try to extrapolate where the story goes and what’s the most impactful choice — what’s the best journey? And where do you go after the film in terms of those characters. M’Baku certainly was someone that got kicked around a little bit… [Nakia becoming Black Panther] got kicked around! Her name got kicked around for sure."

They zeroed in on Shuri at the end, which made the most sense. “There’s a natural organic-ness, I guess is the best way to say it, to her becoming Panther [because of what happens in the comics],” Cole said.

King T’Challa’s son was almost introduced in a different way

Cole revealed another important detail regarding the mid-credits scene of the movie. After the initial title credits are rolled, we see Shuri meet T’Challa and Nakia’s son, who was being brought up in Haiti by his mother.

Cole said that T’Challa having a kid with Nakia was part of the story even before Boseman’s passing, but they had to change the way they incorporated him in the story. At one point, the plan was to reveal the new character when Queen Mother Ramonda, played by Angela Bassett, visits Nakia in Haiti.

They went with introducing the young T’Challa in the mid-credits scene instead, and one can agree with Cole that it was indeed the “best possible version.”

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