What 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Post-Credit Scenes Mean for the MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is always full of surprises, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever featured one that will no doubt be one of the biggest shocks to long-time viewers.

With Chadwick Boseman's death in August 2020 following a battle with cancer, the Marvel film mirrors real life as it sees Wakanda in mourning after the loss of Boseman's hero King T'Challa, a.k.a. the Black Panther.

Struggling with their grief, T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett) try to focus on protecting Wakanda from the outside world, but then a new adversary, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), appears.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

What 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Post-Credit Scenes Mean for the MCU

In Wakanda Forever, Shuri leads the nation of Wakanda in a fight against Namor and his people of Talokan after blood was spilled on both sides and led to an all-out war.

Now the new Black Panther, Shuri goes head-to-head with mutant Namor and their fight ends with Shuri as the victor. Full of rage from her grief, Shuri prepares to deliver a killing blow to Namor but then chooses to show mercy and offers an accord between Wakanda and Talokan.

Namor agrees and the nations go back to their relative harmony, with Shuri's reign of Wakanda beginning for real. But, first, she decides to visit Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) in Haiti to hold a ceremony to burn her funeral robes that symbolizes the end of her mourning after T'Challa's passing.

The film's post-credit scene takes place seconds after the main event has finished, with Nakia bringing a boy to meet Shuri. The boy is T'Challa's son.

Nakia reveals that she and T'Challa agreed that she should raise their son away from Wakanda and the pressure of being next in line for the throne, and the young boy reveals that he is also named T'Challa.

By introducing the younger T'Challa, the MCU ensures that the Black Panther mantle can continue to be passed down to the late king's family, and the character is likely to play an important part in Marvel films in the future.

T'Challa's son, whose full name is Azari T'Challa in the Marvel comics, has likely been introduced to help bolster the Young Avengers, a team that includes the children of superheroes and their prodigies that has yet to be featured in the MCU.

Several members of the Young Avengers have appeared in the MCU so far, from Ms. Marvel and America Chavez to Kate Bishop and Wanda Maximoff's children Wiccan and Speed. All of them, including T'Challa's son, are likely to become key players of the MCU as part of the Young Avengers.

Wakanda Forever's second post-credit scene is actually not really a scene as much as a promise, because it is a title card that reads: "Black Panther Will Return." Given Shuri has taken on her brother's title, it seemed obvious that she would be back, but fans will no doubt appreciate the confirmation.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is out in theaters now.