Namor (Tenoch Huerta) will make his MCU debut in a few weeks in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Marvel’s trailers made him look like the villain of Black Panther 2, and we do know that he’s another mutant we’ll see in Marvel’s rich universe. But Namor might not be the real Wakanda Forever villain. And he might not be identical to the character from the comics.
Ryan Coogler will not disclose such massive Wakanda Forever secrets. But the Wakanda Forever co-writer and director explained in an interview how he brought Namor to the MCU via the Black Panther sequel. Some spoilers might follow below.
Coogler talked to Entertainment Weekly about the movie after the Wakanda Forever trailer 2 release. The clip delivers plenty of exciting revelations, getting us closer to finding out the identity of the new Black Panther.
The director explained what the sequel meant for him after the passing of Chadwick Boseman. He said he had to redo the movie he had planned before Boseman’s death.
“I had to find a way that I felt like I could keep going and a way that our Black Panther family could keep going,” Coogler said. “I started to come up with a film that had elements of the film that we had just finished writing, but also applied the themes that the people who were hurting just as much as me could actually perform and execute and come out on the other side whole.”
This also meant introducing Namor, the apparent villain of Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Namor will be different
Namor is based on the same character from the comic books, as Coogler says that he’s been a fan of the character since he was young. But Wakanda Forever will introduce a different version of Namor than those stories.
For starters, Namor isn’t the ruler of Atlantis in Black Panther 2. He’s the King of Talocan, a new kingdom that Coogler imagined for the film, inspired by ancient Mayan culture. Talocan is similar to Wakanda, the director revealed. Both are a sort of “El Dorado,” or advanced civilizations that are “hiding in plain sight.”
However, Coogler kept in place Namor’s iconic look from the comics. That includes the ankle wings, which stand out in trailer 2.
“I think with making these types of movies, you’ve got to lean into the weird stuff, or you risk missing what makes it fun,” Coogler said.
“He’s got really unique features and things that don’t necessarily go together. He can breathe underwater, obviously, but he’s got these little wings on his ankles. He’s got pointy ears and walks around in his underwear. It’s all fun, man.”
Coogler did not reveal any big Namor spoilers, however. But we already suspect he’s not the primary Wakanda Forever villain. Instead, he might be an anti-hero that we’ll grow to love.
Black Panther 2 hits theaters on November 11th, with tickets available online right now. The Disney Plus release should follow about 45 days later.
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