Little by little, the full cast for Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War continues to round out and expand, delivering on the promise that EVERY possible hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will answer the call once Thanos arrives on our planet. And as casting news breaks, we are starting to realize just how important the mysterious nation of Wakanda will be to Avengers: Infinity War, because numerous members of the Black Panther cast are due to pop up in the superhero team up. The latest addition? Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in Ryan Coogler's standalone hero effort.
Letitia Wright doesn't let the cat (errr, Panther) out of the bag, so much as she retweets this Tweet from IMDB announcing her role in Avengers: Infinity War. As expected, she talks about how excited she is to be part of the massive tentpole movie, and we're left wondering how she will fit in. The Russos have made it clear that every corner of the MCU will be explored by Infinity War, as the mighty Marvel warriors have to pool their talents to fend off the advances of Thanos (Josh Brolin). We know the Guardians of the Galaxy are involved. We know that Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is involved. And with each new casting nugget, we know that more and more members of Wakanda's society are involved.
Shuri is the daughter of the deceased King T'Chaka, and the half-sister of the warrior T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). We did not meet her in Captain America: Civil War -- the MCU movie that introduced Black Panther to the cinematic world -- but she's expected to play an integral role in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther movie, which drops in February.
I don't think it's a coincidence that Black Panther arrives in theaters right before Avengers: Infinity War on the MCU timeline. While I think this year's Thor: Ragnarok will do some table-setting for Thanos' ultimate arrival on Earth, I also believe that a chunk of Black Panther will connect dots that help explain how the Avengers will prepare to battle the Mad Titan. And this a complete guess on my part, but I'm willing to bet Bucky's good arm that there's an Infinity Stone hiding somewhere in Wakanda. We'll see if I'm right soon enough.
Marvel fans have been on the hunt for the Avengers: Infinity War footage that screened at D23, and later at San Diego Comic-Con. Forget that. I want the studio to release the full Black Panther trailer and extended clip, which set Hall H ablaze with fan anticipation. For now, we're stuck with this first, fine Black Panther trailer, so spin this and get a taste of what director Ryan Coogler has in store:
Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) will be fighting for screen time in Avengers: Infinity War with a vast array of other Marvel heroes, as everyone from Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) to The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) are taking place in the fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin). How will it work? We'll know on May 4, 2018. What comes after that? Hit up our Upcoming Marvel Movies for all of the information we have on the next Phase of MCU movies.
