While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever plot details are being kept more secret than the location of Wakanda, some casting rumours have emerged. The Illuminerdi report that Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) may have been cast as the iconic Marvel antihero Namor the Submariner.
Now take this news with a massive pinch of (sea) salt because nothing has been confirmed. That said, Namor finally making a big-screen appearance makes a lot of sense as the MCU’s been teasing his appearance for years now. In Iron Man 2, there was a blink and you’ll miss it map that showed Nick Fury keeping an eye on something in the Atlantic Ocean, and in Endgame, Okoye mentioned an underwater earthquake off the coast of Africa which fans took as a nod to Namor.
The mutant son of a sea captain and a princess from the kingdom of Atlantis, Namor is one of Marvel’s oldest characters (alongside Captain America and the original Human Torch). Born with incredible powers beyond the average Atlantean, Namor uses his superhuman abilities to defend Atlantis from anything that threatens it.
Over the years, his mission to defend his people has seen him come into conflict with the “surface dwellers”, including, most notably in the case of this story, the people of Wakanda and T’Challa. Known for his short temper and arrogance, it wouldn’t surprise us in the slightest if director/writer Ryan Coogler chose to use Namor as an antagonist in the film (until the inevitable learns the error of his ways).
This isn’t the first time rumours of a Namor movie have surfaced. Philip Kaufman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) was supposed to be developing a film focused on the Sub-Mariner for Universal back in 1999, but nothing came of it. More recently, Chris Colombus (Home Alone) entered talks to tackle the character, but again things fell through. The last we heard about Marvel’s Avenging Son was Kevin Feige confirming the rights to the character had returned to Marvel Studios in 2014.
Writing on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently underway ahead of filming this summer. The project was delayed after the death of Chadwick Boseman last year to give the cast time to grieve and to give Coogler the time to work out how to continue the story without his leading man.
Marvel Studios has confirmed they will not be recasting T’Challa or using a digital version of Chadwick Boseman in the film. Instead, the studio wants the film to honour Chadwick’s legacy and build on what he helped establish in the first movie.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to be released on July 8, 2022.