[This article contains spoilers forBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever]Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverpremiered to much acclaim from many critics and moviegoers. From the moment the original film dropped in 2018, the anticipation was high for what the sequel would deliver. The death of actorChadwick Bosemanonly set to increase those stakes. So it meant that theRyan Coogler-directed film had a lot of work to get through in other to put out a fitting film that honored the fallen and told a gripping story, all the while introducing new characters. It made sense that some aspects would not make it to the final cut, and now,Wakanda Forevereditor,Michael P. Shawverhas revealed that a romantic connection between the new Black Panther Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Talokan’s ruler Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) was explored in some takes.
Before their epic showdown towards the end of the film, Shuri and Namor had been quite cordial with each other. After Shuri chose to be taken back to Namor, he took her on an underwater excursion to the city of Talokan deep beneath the waves. The pair also shared some deep conversations in relation to trauma brought on by loss. While at odds with fundamental values of secrecy, there was no denying that there was an underlying romantic connection shared between the two during their scenes. Editor Shawver now reveals that our instincts were spot on, there had been a discussion about seeing the pair romantically linked.
Speaking toNewsweek, Shawver spoke about this saying:
“I think what’s really interesting is there were takes where there was some connection there… and at one point in an early cut we discussed like, ‘Hey, do we leave it there? Do we just put it out there? Let’s just add some complexity to the relationship.’ But, then, you’ve got to watch out for portraying, for example, Shuri flirting to get what she wants as opposed to being a diplomatic leader and becoming the leader that she needs to be, that she’ll get to at the end. So what we ultimately focused on was Namor’s line where he says, ‘Only the most damaged people can be truly great leaders,’ and that’s planting the seed of the shared trauma that she realizes at the end [of the film]. But that’s essentially who they are, they’re trying to lead and be a leader of their nations with all this pain, carrying around this heavy heart.”
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Shawver went on to discuss the scene where Namor presented Shuri with his mother’s bracelet, saying, “Honestly, we’ve got to keep ourselves sane and laugh a lot, especially with the tougher moments or the serious moments, so we would always joke that when he gave her that bracelet they were married now, and she didn’t know it […] There’s a whole different movie where she’s like, ‘wait, what, I’m the queen of Talokan now?'”
The question of a romantic connection hadalready been put to Huerta Mejía, but ahead of the film’s release the actor shared that he didn’t“feel it was a romantic touch [between them].” He instead explained it as more of “a human, intimate touch.” He did go on to explain that the spark seen was borne more from their shared threats and roots than romance.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris in theatres now. you’re able to check out the trailer below:
