Marvel Studios(NEW YORK) — Black Panther is being praised for its cast of very strong female characters — including Shuri, played by Letitia Wright. The character is the little sister to Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, the king of Wakanda who also wears the mantle of its fearsome protector, the Black Panther.
Wakanda is an African nation so technologically advanced it has literally hidden itself from the rest of the world. As the head engineer of the Wakanda Design Group, Shuri’s in charge of all that tech. She’s also one of the smartest characters in the Marvel Universe, who can intellectually go toe to toe with the likes of Tony “Iron Man” Stark.
Wright tells ABC Radio she’s grateful that her character will inspire a whole new generation of girls to take on careers in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Incidentally, in the current run of the Black Panther comics, Shuri herself takes over as Black Panther. “If that happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that’s cool,” Wright tells ABC Radio, “but where Shuri is right now, you can take her anywhere. You can mix her up with Spider-Man, you can throw her in with, you know, Thor — whatever you want to do with her, she can be there. So the sky’s the limit, really, with Shuri.”
Black Panther is now in theaters from Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
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