I'll preface by saying I haven't seen BP2, so cannot comment on how much I might enjoy it. That said, I love seeing equality in films in general. I'm a big Captain Marvel fan and have loved Brie's work since Scott Pilgrim. She blew me away in Room. I enjoyed Melissa McCarthy's Ghostbusters film, especially the role-reversal of Chris Hemsworth and the absolutely hilarious acting of Kate McKinnon. Right now I'm thoroughly enjoying a slow watch of She-Hulk, it's an incredibly fantastic series that should get more attention.
I say this all to clarify my position on equality so that I can also say that, yes, I would have preferred a recasting of Black Panther rather than a passing of the torch. Not because Shuri is a woman. Not because her actress is an anti-vaxxing loon. But because I like the T'Challa version of the character, regardless of which actor is playing him. I also like the Jane Foster version of Thor (and now Valkyrie, in the comics) better than the original Thor. These are just personal preferences.
The people that didn't like it because they dared to replace a male character with a female? Well, they can go fuck themselves sideways and really aren't worth the effort of responding to, and I'm boggled that people do bother to give them any "airtime" in these threads. I don't engage with racists, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes, and facists. They thrive on making you feel defensive about the things you enjoy so, again, fuck them.