With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever being the next Marvel movie in line, the biggest question surrounding the film is who exactly will end up replacing the late Chadwick Boseman both as King of the African nation and to take up the vacant Black Panther mantle.
The easy answer to that question would point to Letitia Wright’s Shuri as the most logical candidate. However, T’Challa’s girlfriend Nakia is also a viable option, as well as some of the other Wakandan men who had their eyes on the heart-shaped purple herb. Nevertheless, some early fan theories are imagining how Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger could make a comeback and rise from the sea to succeed his cousin, and the more one thinks about the more he starts to sound like the best candidate.
Killmonger Was The Perfect Villain
Firstly and most importantly, Killmonger was arguably the MCU’s absolute best villain. Sure, some might say Marvel’s movie bad guys are severely lacking, with very few worthy candidates for that title, but Killmonger’s saving grace was not Jordan’s performance. Instead, it was a character who presented a convincing motive as to why he craved power. Beyond the genocidal desires of Thanos or some more elaborate revenge arcs, most MCU baddies are usually after an almighty shiny object and little else. Killmonger was more complex.
In Black Panther, T’Challa even offers Killmonger the chance to be saved, yet the character’s undying conviction leads him to prefer “death over bondage” as the soldier he is. Suffice to say, Killmonger is a bad guy. Nevertheless, what would precisely make him a character worth exploring is that he could somehow see the faults in his beliefs and become a hero, or at least an antihero.
Do not forget that even though T’Chaka and T’Challa were kings, the Black Panther mantle is not necessarily tied to sitting on the Wakandan throne. Killmonger could continue to be a mercenary soldier of some sort in this role. Admittedly, Shuri could also fit this description if Queen Ramonda leads Wakandan politics, and despite surely maturing a lot due to her brother’s death, she’s always been played out to be a non-physical fighter.
Right now Shuri, along with newcomer Riri Williams, is supposed to take over the tech role that Tony Stark held, and it seems kind of odd that she’d have to juggle that title along with the Black Panther one. In Killmonger’s case, his redemption arc could even see him join the Thunderbolts later on. A mission like this not only falls in line with his military background, but also use a more complex character that is not simply good or bad outright, unlike his What If...? incarnation. Plus, Ryan Coogler would probably bring back his Killmonger theme.
Searching For Killmonger Clues
There’s a lot of wishful thinking among fans who’d love to see Jordan's character become the next Black Panther, but there are also some meaningful clues in Wakanda Forever’s trailer that might already be hinting at his return. The most obvious is the actual Black Panther suit. It is sported by a body that seems on the slimmer side, but not as much to be singled out as female or male, especially since Wright looks noticeably more muscular in some of the shots featuring her.
This Black Panther suit does feature Killmonger’s black and gold color scheme (though not necessarily his heavyweight physique), whereas Shuri donned something more similar to her brother's black and purple during the first film and when she fights in Avengers: Infinity War. Someone like Nakia or M’Baku could also prefer the gold details; however, nothing in any Marvel trailer is put in there casually, especially not that sudden “and when I wake up” line from Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”
So how exactly would Killmonger wake up? The topic of resurrection should not be new to MCU fan, even more so in the case of Black Panther, where T’Challa rose back from death after strolling around the Astral Plane. Having taken the purple herb, Killmonger possesses true superpowers, and he effectively took the last dose unless Shuri can come up with Wakandan super soldier serum that harnesses the flower’s powers.
The afterlife has also become a topic of interest in other parts of the MCU, seeing as Jane Foster ended up in Valhalla, and Moon Knight also dealt with resurrection mentioning the goddess Bast as one of Konshu’s equals. Suffice to say, resurrection is definitely on the menu, and Killmonger’s moment of reckoning could take place in the Astral Plane with his own father and king T’Chaka. Having been buried at sea, just like he wished, Killmonger also fits in nicely with Namor as an incoming threat to Wakanda. After all, Black Panther’s Namor has been reworked to distance himself from DC’s Aquaman, and Talocan could have more mystic qualities than his original Atlantis.
Summing up all the theories, it’s pretty easy to look at the trailer and assume Shuri dies at some point and then is revived as the new Black Panther. However, that such a scenario would rob the film of much of the shock value Marvel is known for. Reviving Killmonger and passing the Black Panther title to a known friend of Boseman like Jordan would certainly be more epic.