Marvel has confirmed a connection between Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger and Shuri's Black Panther suit.
Fans noticed the gold accents on Shuri's suit evoked Killmonger's.
Ryan Meinerding, Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development, confirmed that Shuri's suit is "a combination between T'Challa's suit and Killmonger's suit."
Shuri saw Killmonger in the ancestral plane in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, who influenced her to drive for revenge.
Marvel has a tradition of passing mantles, like the Black Panther, from one character to another.
The "symbol of the mantle" changes, and the character's suit "end up meaning something" in the storytelling.
T'Challa made his suit in Captain America: Civil War, while Shuri made both his new suit and Killmonger's in the original Black Panther film.
Shuri's suit has "subtle nods" to both T'Challa and Killmonger's suits and represents both her brother and what she learned from Killmonger.
Shuri's suit is mostly black like T'Challa's but has gold jaguar detailing like Killmonger's.
The gold accents on Shuri's suit also represent her "inner turmoil" and the "emotional weight" she carries.
Shuri's suit is "more sleek and elegant" than T'Challa's and Killmonger's suits.
Meinerding's team tried to "bring a little bit of both of those suits together" in Shuri's design.