Wakanda Forever Dodged a Big Mistake By Downplaying a Problematic Pairing
Although when did fans ever care about a couple being problematic if it was about true love?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was not the movie overly focused on romance, but fans still found a way to ship certain two characters — and the funniest things about that is how they called what Marvel was actually trying to do.
Shortly after Wakanda Forever premiered in theaters, many people started to get hyped up about the chemistry between Shuri and Namor, the leader of Talocan.
It turns out that Marvel could actually make them a thing, as Wakanda Forever editor, Michael P. Shawver, told Newsweek that the creative team even filmed some romantic scenes between the two but ultimately decided to focus on their shared cultural trauma and diplomacy instead.
While for some people the decision seemed to be a missed opportunity, others were clearly relieved, because that couple could have been really problematic.
First things first: there is an age gap between the two. It's just a couple centuries, but still seems like a big deal.
Although, to be fair, it would not be the first time when such an age gap is a thing in Marvel. After all, hasn't it been several months after we had a movie about God of Thunder who is thousands of years old and his human love interest?
But the age gap is not the only problematic thing about Shuri and Namor. According to fans, the two are simply toxic for each other. Some people just hate the "enemies to lovers" trope, while others insist that the couple would end up being manipulative and traumatic for both Shuri and Namor.
After all, Namor does destroy her home and kill her mother, which does not exactly help to build a healthy relationship. What's more, Namor did that just as Shuri was trying to wrap her head around the death of her brother.
At this point, people argue, there is no way Namor and Shuri could have ended up together and not making things worse for each other.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered in theaters on November 11. The movie has concluded MCU 's Phase Four.