For Letitia Wright, nothing will be quite the same after Black Panther. Since the towering success of the Marvel film earlier this year, the 25-year-old actress is the distinct face of comic book character Shuri. After auditioning to be the badass, super-smart teenager, Wright embodies well in the MCU, she already had a good feeling about her chances of scoring the role. In her words:
I've got this role, God has told me.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Letitia Wright talked about the life-changing moment. She spoke of her confidence in nabbing the part to her agent Femi Oguns, who founded her college, the London Identity School of Acting, which aims to foster diverse talent. Oguns also represents other breakout stars, including Star Wars' John Boyega and Bad Times at the El Royale lead Cynthia Erivo. The actress likely auditioned beside a lot of other young hopefuls hoping to be a part of the MCU or just catch a big break.
The young actress has spoken out before about the important of faith to her career. Letitia Wright struggled with depression just as she was starting to get calls for more high-profile roles. To focus on finding her balance again, Wright even turned down a movie opposite Nicole Kidman prior to saying yes to Black Panther. While many actors are taught under the mindset of taking anything you can get, Wright has been autonomous in her short career, picking up roles that speak to her personally. Wright also told THR:
I pride myself on keeping it the same as when I came into acting, to not just change the lane and take everything, just because it may have a big name or a big budget... Am I right for this part? Is this what I should be playing? If something feels off in my spirit, I know that's God's way of saying, 'You shouldn't do that.
With Black Panther, Letitia Wright felt the power of the film before reading the story. She has said that she knew it was going to be a special project that would represent women well early in the process. Wright is frequently getting approached by Black Panther fans who discuss the importance of her character in the film. Shuri is an equal to that of her superhero brother T'Challa, with incredible abilities of her own to bring to the table.
When Letitia Wright signed on to be Shuri for the Black Panther, it was just the beginning of the character's story on the big screen. She reprised her role in this summer's Avengers: Infinity War and will likely find a place in Avengers 4 and the upcoming Black Panther 2, with director Ryan Coogler returning to direct the latter.
The actress continues to be picky about her roles, as she is only set to star in Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira's play The Convert on a London stage starting in December. The grounded actress can definitely afford to so early in her career since she dazzled on screen as Shuri.
