Marvel fans are trying to guess who the new Black Panther is from one trailer frame

Letitia Wright in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted at San Diego Comic-Con – and it gave us a very brief glimpse of someone new in the Black Panther suit. After T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020, Marvel made the decision not to recast his character. Therefore, it'll be another character who takes on the mantle of Wakanda's hero, and Marvel fans are trying to guess who it might be. 

The top four guesses? T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), his love interest Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), General of the Dora Milaje Okoye (Danai Gurira), or Killmonger, the antagonist of the first movie (Michael B. Jordan).

"I think this is Killmonger, he didn't actually die at the end of Black Panther. Wakanda has advanced tech that could've saved his life. Plus Michael B Jordan is an A list actor who would be perfect as the next black panther for years to come," said one Twitter user. 

"It's definitely not Killmonger," argued another. "Killmonger was huge. It's either Shuri, Nakia, or Okoye."

"Okoye is the most deserving [in my opinion]," said another fan. "She fought alongside T'challa even in Infinity War and Endgame."

"It's the little things things that tell this is Shuri, the costume has the gauntlets that Shuri usually have," tweeted someone else.

Alongside Wright, Nyong'o, and Gurira, the sequel to 2018's Black Panther also sees Winston Duke's M'Baku, Angela Bassett's Ramonda, and Martin Freeman's Everett Ross. It was recently confirmed that Daniel Kaluuya will not be returning as W'Kabi due to scheduling conflicts with filming Jordan Peele's latest movie, Nope. The cast will also feature some newcomers, including Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, AKA Ironheart, and Tenoch Huerta as Namor, the movie's antagonist.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives on the big screen on November 11. While we wait to find out who's really under that suit, you can get up to speed on all the latest MCU news with everything that was announced at Marvel's SDCC panel

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.