10 Actors Who Could Play Black Panther In The Sequel

This is far and away the most widespread theory. Everyone expects Shuri to step up and fill her deceased brother's shoes, and with good reason: she did it in the comics.

There was a brief run wherein T'Challa was left comatose after a battle with Doctor Doom, and - in an effort to fend off the villainous Morlun and his impending decimation of Wakanda - Shuri donned the Black Panther title and fought to save her country. Fans have speculated that Shuri would follow this route (in some capacity or another) since the first film, long before Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing. That may very well be in Marvel's plans, and with the current situation, her assumption of the title and the throne may have been expedited dramatically.

Shuri is one of the smartest characters in the MCU, if not THE smartest. She's a technological genius, and she watched as her brother ruled with dignity, poise, and courage. She's been in the fog of war, and she's fought desperately - in a laboratory, and on the battlefield - to save not only Wakanda, and not only Earth, but the universe, itself.

That's a queen if there ever was one.