Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Crew Gifts Hint at Major Change to Namor and Atlantis in MCU

Production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever wrapped earlier this spring and while much of the upcoming film remains a mystery, newly revealed wrap gifts for the film’s crew may hint at a major change to Namor and Atlantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the weekend, images of the hat and sweatshirt given to the crew that worked on the film were shared on social media with the hat in particular featuring a colorful image that looks a bit like it could be a version of Tepeyollotl, the Aztec jaguar god.

As you can see, the hat in particular features a cat face surrounded by colorful plumage, which is very similar to depictions of Tepeyollotl. It’s a really beautiful graphic, but if that is indeed what the graphic is meant to look like, it would bolster the persistent rumor that the MCU’s version of Namor will be of Central American origin.

So the crew that worked on Wakanda Forever were given a hat and and sweater for working on the film. Looks like Tepeyollotl the Aztec Jaguar God. Atlanteans gonna just be Aztecs and I’m PERFECTLY FINE WITH THAT. Lets go. pic.twitter.com/T1nM3cFLqP

— IT WAS ALL A DREAM, I USED TO READ WIZARD MAGAZINE (@UpToTASK) May 22, 2022

Following the casting of Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta in the film, not only was it widely speculated that the actor would be playing Namor, but that Namor’s origin would shift as well. There have also been multiple reports of the film casting for Mesoamerican characters as well as more recent reports that Atlantis will instead be a submerged city in Mexico or Central America. Additionally, promo art that recently popped up online also seems to have some references to Mesoamerican design and culture — the actual image itself is blurry — specifically the collar and armor on the arms and legs. The use of Tepeyollotl on the wrap gift fits into that overall scheme.

For now, we still don’t really know anything about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Namor’s rumored appearance. What we do know is that while the character did not appear as part of The Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that film’s writer Michael Waldron revealed that Marvel has other plans for the character within the MCU.

“[We] talked about him, because he’s certainly an original member of the Illuminati,” Waldron said. “But I think Marvel has other plans for him in the MCU. And so, he didn’t make his way in this particular movie.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will open in theaters November 11th.