Ryan Coogler Focused Wakanda Forever On Shuri Based On A Chadwick Boseman Comment

Chadwick Boseman’s loss was especially painful to those who knew him best. Ryan Coogler went through countless hurdles during the production of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” one of them being who to have the film center around. With Marvel refusing to recast the role (via /Film), it was a sentiment from Boseman himself that helped inform the director who the sequel’s star would be.

On the Korean talk show V Live Movie Talk, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, and Michael B. Jordan were asked whether their “Black Panther” characters are the best ones in the movie, and Boseman couldn’t help breaking out into a smile when he gushed, “I love my little sister, man. I’ve loved my little sister from the day I met her.” When Coogler came across the interview following Boseman’s death, he realized that it would only be right to have Letitia Wright’s Shuri take on the mantle in honor of the relationship the actors shared (via The Hollywood Reporter).

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“I was looking at that and I remembered the conversations Chadwick and I would have about Letitia all the way back when we were doing chemistry reads with actresses,” Coogler said “He really responded to her. And I realized that maybe we could build a film around her character since that was his favorite character.” As obvious as a direction it seems, the reality of taking on the role saw great challenges for Wright and the team.