Namor: Does Marvel Have Big Plans for the Sub-Mariner?

Principal photography has picked back up on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the film powers forward towards its release later this year. Rumored to appear in the film is one Namor McKenzie, the beloved Marvel hero that serves as the figurehead to Atlantis. Tenoch Huerta has been rumored to appear as the legendary character, and another new report suggests the Black Panther follow-up is just the beginning for the character.

Long-time comics website Bleeding Cool is now dipping its toes into scooping the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a new report suggesting Marvel Studios is preparing to give the character his own franchise—just like what they did with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) appearing first in the events of Captain America: Civil War.

The live-action rights have long been the subject of curiosity, with Universal previously holding solo movie rights, much like what the outfit did with The Incredible Hulk. To date, those rights still remain a big question mark. There was a time in 2017 Marvel creative Joe Quesada claimed the rights had returned to Marvel Studios, but studio head Kevin Feige said the rights weren't cut and dry as recently as 2018.

"It is. I think there's a way to probably figure it out but it does have — it's not as a clean or clear as the majority of the other characters," Feige responded.

"Let's put it this way – there are entanglements that make it less easy," he added. "There are older contracts that still involve other parties that mean we need to work things out before we move forward on it. As opposed to an Iron Man or any of the Avengers or any of the other Marvel characters where we could just put them in."

Should the rights, in fact, be back at Marvel, there's definitely no stopping the studio from creating a Namor franchise spinning out of the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens November 11th.

What other characters do you think are popping up in Black Panther 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

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