BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER The deleted scenes included a romantic storyline between Shuri and Namor

Shuri (Letizia Wright) and Namor (Tenoch Huerta) have spent a good amount of time together at Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and while watching the movie, there were moments where I wondered if a romance would break out between them. Well, it turns out that almost happened!

According to the publisher Michael P. Shawver, the Black Panther the sequel almost included a romantic storyline between Shuri and Namor, but those scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. In an interview with Newsweek Shawver explained that this love story has been talked about and even filmed. He said:

“I think what’s really interesting is that there were takes where there was some connection there… and at one point in an early cut we were like, ‘Hey, shall we leave it there? Let’s just release it. Let’s just add some complexity to the relationship.’”

He went on to talk about Shuri’s flirtation as a leader and how it could be seen:

“But then you have to be careful playing, for example, Shuri flirting to get what she wants instead of being a diplomatic leader and becoming the leader she needs to be, which she’s going to eventually come to.”

Ultimately, the two characters’ focus was on a connection they shared through trauma, and it is on this that their friendship and alliance would be built:

“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 shared trauma that she ultimately realizes. [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 this heavy heart with them.”

I’m not sure if the romance would have worked, so they made the right decision by cutting that aspect of the story. Huerta had previously ruled out the idea of ​​a romance between the characters, saying:

“I don’t think it was a romantic touch [between them]. I think it was more of a human, intimate touch. I mean, in the history of their kingdoms, in the history of their people, they share the same root, and the threat comes from the same place for both of them, for the same reason. Both face threats from western countries like the United States and France in history, due to vibranium, natural resources. I think they connect in this aspect.

“I mean, when you meet someone and you have a good relationship, whether this person is your gender or not, you always have this ambiguous relationship. It’s normal. It’s human. A romantic relationship or not? I don’t know. It wasn’t our intention. It might or might not happen. The beautiful part of this relationship is that it doesn’t need to be romantic to be deep. It doesn’t need to be romantic to be beautiful, bright, and intimate. And this connection between a man and a woman on different levels doesn’t necessarily need to end up in a romantic relationship. And it’s beautiful, you know? Because I hate romantic love, I think it’s poison. [Laughs]. These characters, they create something… I don’t know. It was magical, but not necessarily romantic.”

What do you think of how Shuri and Namor’s relationship was handled in the film? Do you think any kind of romance would have worked between them?