Eternals director Chloe Zhao just gave her review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, hyping up the relationship between Shuri and Namor.
Black Panther 2 had a huge impact on the MCU fandom upon its November 11 debut, giving the franchise a new hero in Letitia Wright’s Shuri after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing. On top of seeing the young princess develop as a leader and a hero, fans saw her develop an interesting relationship with the sequel’s main villain, Tenoch Huerta’s Namor the Sub-Mariner.
Although Huerta openly admitted that he wasn’t focused on the romantic side of the relationship with Shuri, viewers saw a unique chemistry between the two, leading many to wonder whether they were destined to be together.
And after seeing that relationship grow in Black Panther 2, another director from Phase 4 of the MCU has shared her high praise for what came to be.
Chloe Zhao Raves About Black Panther 2
Eternals director Chloe Zhao shared an emotional review of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in a new post on Instagram.
She called the movie “beautiful” and “powerful,” congratulating director Ryan Coogler and his team for the work they did on the sequel. She also pointed out the moment when Tenoch Huerta’s Namor asked Letitia Wright’s Shuri to take his side in the battle against the surface world, using the “flushed” emoji and a blue heart to express her love for the scene:
“My heart is so full! What a beautiful, powerful and emotional ride. Congratulations Ryan, team Black Panther and Marvel Studios! #wakandaforever… When Namor asked Shuri to burn the world with him…😳💙🌊 #ao3
For reference, the #ao3 hashtag refers to the Archive of our Own website, a popular fanfiction site where any writer can share their own work based on their favorite stories. Zhao has shared in past interviews that she writes her own fanfictions, although she hasn’t revealed the properties on which they’re based.
Here, Zhao’s use of this hashtag shows her support for the relationship between Shuri and Namor, indicating that she’d be interested in writing or reading fanfiction that imagines them in some type of romance.
Will Namor and Shuri Get Romantic Later?
As the director who delivered one of only two sex scenes in MCU history, Chloe Zhao is certainly more than qualified to share her love for “ships” within the MCU. And as she saw the events of Black Panther 2 unfold, Zhao seemed to be enthralled by the budding bond between Shuri and Namor.
Unfortunately, the two would wind up going to war with one another as Talokan engaged Wakanda in battle, eventually leading to the death of Shuri’s mother, Ramonda. But thankfully, even though Shuri and Namor partook in an epic one-on-one brawl during Black Panther 2‘s final act, they came to a resolution to stop the fighting and formed an alliance between their nations.
Now, the only question is whether Shuri and Namor will go further down that path and actually try out a deeper relationship with one another, especially as vastly bigger dangers lurk ahead in movies like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters, and Eternals is now streaming on Disney+.
