Spoiler Alert: Spoilers Ahead for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Out of all the surprising elements Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had to offer, the biggest one was to see a former actor of the franchise return in his iconic role. Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as Erik ’Killmonger’ Stevens, aka N’Jadaka, from the 2018 film Black Panther. Jordan’s MCU villain became an instant hit with the fans, and his vengeance-fueled character arc was well appreciated. However, having more of an anti-hero approach, Jordan’s Killmonger eventually fell dead in the final fight against his cousin, T’Challa.
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There were always talks of Jordan returning for the sequel and becoming an ally to T’Challa in what would be his redemptive journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though those ideas never came to life, Jordan did return for the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in quite an interesting appearance. The actor has spoken up about his cameo in the film, which was kept under wraps until the film’s debut.

In an interview with Extra TV, Michael B. Jordan revealed how he hid his potential return from everyone in what was Marvel’s best-kept secret in recent times. He said,

“I had to lie to my family over here. I had to lie to everybody out here… I had to just keep it under wraps… When you’re dealing with Marvel and stuff like that, you know the routine. So you just gotta, you know, deny, deny, deny, deny, deny until the end of it, yeah.”

Marvel Studios has a history of having cameo appearances in MCU productions. And Jordan’s wasn’t the only appearance that surprised fans. The film also features Julia Louis-Dreyfus reprising her role of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Black Widow.

However, lately, the franchise hasn’t been able to keep these surprises hidden. Spider-Man: No Way Home’s grandeur appearances of actors from previous Spider-Man films were almost leaked way before the film’s first trailer was unveiled. There were already spoilers of Multiverse of Madness doing rounds right after its world premiere. However, the studio did a fine job keeping Jordan’s cameo a secret with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Related: Why Black Panther 2’s Namor Won’t Get a Solo Movie

N’Jadaka Shapes Shuri’s Transition into Black Panther

Marvel Studios

In the film, Jordan appears as a projection of N’Jadaka in the ancestral plane, whom Shuri encounters after ingesting the synthetic heart-shaped herb. Like T’Challa meeting his father and forefather in the ancestral plane, Shuri expects to see her mother there. However, she is instead greeted by her cousin, N’Jadaka. N’Jadaka reflects Shuri’s anger, grief, and feelings of vengeance against Namor after he kills Ramonda during his attack on Wakanda.

N’Jadaka asks Shuri to embrace her vengeful feelings, leading her to don the new suit. After meeting with the Wakandan elders, Shuri’s battle plans include killing Namor. Even during her fight with the latter, she fights with rage and eventually overpowers him. However, she decides to spare him and negotiate a truce, thus, going with her mother’s advice.

In a way, N’Jadaka’s conversation with Shuri helps her pass through her anger and grief, which eventually is put to rest after she burns the ceremonial robe she wore during T’Challa’s funeral. Shuri is now the MCU’s Black Panther and was recently recognized during the Marvel Studios logo reveal for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Though there is no immediate sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the works, Shuri may appear in other crossover ventures of Phase Five and Six of the MCU.