Black Panther: Wakanda Forever editor Michael P. Shawver has revealed in an interview with Newsweek, some interesting tidbits of how things evolved during the editing of the movie, especially related to the story of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) and the chemistry between them.
Both characters bond because their cultures, way of living, and ideas about the outside world are not that dissimilar, and as Namor shows Shuri his home country of Talocan, the chemistry between them is more than palpable. Shawver said that the editors (himself, Kelley Dixon, and Jennifer Lame) and director Ryan Coogler kept thinking about the pair and their relationship while editing and what it could’ve become.
About the relationship, Sawver said:
“They relate, and I think that anytime we can relate to somebody there can be undertones of that kind of thing, you know what I mean?”
He then added about the fact that Namor gave Shuri his mother’s bracelet:
“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?’”
Other interesting tidbits Shawver shared in this interview are about the relationship between Shuri and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a longer scene in Talokan, and how difficult it was for him to edit the scenes honoring the late Chadwick Boseman.
While we’re waiting to see what plans the MCU has for both Namor and Shuri and their relationship, from now on, we’ll see their interactions a bit different, as they may already be husband and wife; a marriage made in vibranium heaven.