Marvel has released another trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, finally revealing who will play the titular role. Just as Marvel fans expected, T’Challa’s sister Shuri will take on the mantle after her brother’s demise in The Blip. The character first appeared in the 2018 Black Panther movie and instantly impressed the audience. Even the actor Letitia Wright was the fan favourite to take the series forward after the lead actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020. However, in December of that year, Wright shared a controversial YouTube video on Twitter which allegedly included anti-vax and transphobic views. Since then, some viewers have campaigned against the actress, calling for the recasting of Shuri. Nonetheless, here is the latest trailer of the sequel.
Viewers Have No Problem with Shuri as Black Panther
While Shuri as the new Black Panther was a good idea, the actor playing it has raised many eyebrows. Critics hailed Wright as someone who was completely the opposite of what Boseman represented. In the video she shared, the speaker raised questions about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, appeared sceptical of climate change, accused China of spreading coronavirus, and made transphobic comments. Later, Youtube deleted that video for violating its terms of service. However, Wright has maintained her position as the key figure in MCU, which has not gone well with the fans.
Support for the Actor
Following the controversy, the actor issued a clarification that she was not against the COVID-19 vaccines but only asked questions that she felt were important. Wright also added that she never intended to hurt anyone by posting that video, but only to voice her concerns about what the vaccine contained and what people were putting into thier bodies. She became a target of trolls, who hurled curse words at her regularly until she quit social media. Her supporters called out the “cancel mob” for bullying the actress so much that she had to leave. They argued that it was not a proper way to treat someone for sharing their concerns about a medical product.
Critics Uneasy with Her Stance
The actor’s critics argued that she did not leave social media because of bullying. They said that even after the video was labelled as “harmful content”, Wrght did not apologize for sharing it and maintained her stance before deleting her social media page. The 2 years old controversy is still alive in the memory of many viewers today. Some even said Letitia Wright as the new Black Panther has dulled their excitement to see one of the most awaited and biggest movies of 2022.
