But just 20 minutes into the film, it's clear that Black Panther has a breakout star: Wright, who plays T'Challa's sister and Wakanda's princess, Shuri. Throughout the film's more than two hours, the Guyana-born actress brings the action story some comedic relief, adding a touch of necessary lightness to the dark moments that reflect the current fissures in Black communities. Still, Wright is far from the typical action movie sidekick who simply exists to further along the storyline — or the damsel-in-distress Disney princess trope. Instead, as Wakanda's technological expert, she is quite literally the brains of the entire operation, never hesitating to put T'Challa — or anyone else, for that matter — in their place. In a few epic moments, in fact, she herself becomes the action hero. And she does it all while rocking some gloriously styled braids, another of many firsts for a Marvel sidekick or Disney princess.