Black Panther 2 Director Says Shuri’s Journey Is About Gaining Wisdom

Ryan Coogler, director of Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has revealed that the sequel will see Letitia Wright’s Shuri discover the difference between intelligence and wisdom. Set to be released on November 11, Wakanda Forever marks the final film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 film slate and serves as the sequel to 2018’s Black Panther. Sadly, in 2020, original Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman passed from colon cancer, leaving Coogler and his team to find a way to continue the film series without him.

Rather than recast Boseman’s role of T’Challa, Wakanda Forever will see Wright’s Shuri and the rest of T’Challa’s family and loved ones mourn his passing as their nation faces a new threat in the form of Tenoch Huerta’s Namor and the underwater kingdom of Talokan. Wright, who has been given top billing for the sequel, is widely expected to assume the mantle of the Black Panther during the film, much as her character does in the comic books. Marvel, however, has kept the identity of the next Black Panther a closely guarded secret, despite trailers indicating that it would be a woman who suits up as the titular superhero.

Recently, Screen Rant managed to catch up with Coogler about his work on the film and he spoke about what audiences can expect from the hotly anticipated sequel. While Coogler admitted that there were many themes present in the film, he wanted to concentrate on the “concept of intelligence versus wisdom, what it means to be smart versus what it means to be wise.” He also suggested that Shuri, who is “used to being smarter than everybody she’s around,” will have much to learn when brought face-to-face with Namor, who has lived much longer than she has. Check out his full comments below:

[There are] many themes in this movie. I don’t want to get into all of them because that would suck, but one thing we would talk about is this idea [that] in the first Panther film, there was a big conversation around innovation and tradition. There were traditionalists and there were innovators. In this one, we tried to be less focused on that concept, even though that’s still there. But in this one, I really thought about this concept of intelligence versus wisdom, what it means to be smart versus what it means to be wise, and which one wins when those things come into contact with each other. And there’s something to be said for wisdom. Wisdom comes with a life lived, and Namor is a character who’s very old in a human sense. He’s been alive a long time, so he’s very wise. Shuri comes into contact with this guy who’s much older than he looks, and she’s used to being smarter than everybody she’s around. And maybe you could argue that she is smarter than Namor, but she’s not wiser than him. Wisdom is a powerful thing. She’s also dealing with wisdom from her mother, and I think that made the film very interesting. And that’s a big difference between them. Namor’s lived a lot more life than she has and has been less protected than she has been. Talokan is, in many ways, more exposed than Wakanda is, even though the world knows about Wakanda. It’s this idea of vulnerability and what that can mean.

What Can Wakanda Learn From Talokan In Black Panther 2?

In preparing the story for Wakanda Forever, Coogler chose to deep dive into Mesoamerican mythology and swapped out the underwater kingdom of Atlantis for Talokan, a location based on Aztec legend. It would seem that Namor’s kingdom will be one that is deeply entrenched in ancient traditions, and potentially possesses centuries worth of accumulated wisdom at its fingertips. Though the respective nations of Wakanda and Talokan seem poised as adversaries throughout the events of the film, it is likely through respecting and learning the wisdom of Talokan’s people that Shuri and the leaders of Wakanda will eventually find a way to peace.

Much like Wakanda, Talokan has seemingly decided to isolate itself from the world at large and kept its existence a secret. T’Challa’s decision to open up Wakanda’s borders, however, may have unintended consequences for the late king’s nation and its neighbors. Namor, who has likely seen many nations fall to outside influences during his long life, can potentially teach the current leaders of Wakanda a great deal about sustaining their own culture and traditions. Audiences will have the chance to witness what Talokan can offer the people of Wakanda when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever officially hits theaters next week.