Black Panther 2 Concept Art Gives Namor Comic-Accurate Look

In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the look of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) is based on a combination of ancient Mayan and Aztec mythology. Even then, there was one point in the development process the character was seen sporting a look much more comic-accurate. Tuesday evening, concept artist Joshua James Shaw shared a series of snapshots showing the mutant wearing something more akin to the costume first designed by John Romita Sr.

The concept art shows a general figure, likely before Huerta was cast, wearing a black and blue suit complete with golden accents and a gold trident. See it for yourself below.

According to Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore, the changes were made because of the story filmmaker Ryan Coogler hoped to tell with the sequel.

“And Ryan, again, is interested in exploring themes of colonization as he was in the first film, and started to look at nations that experienced that, and found some Mayan pottery with glyphs on it, where the people were blue,” Moore said last year on Matthew Belloni’s podcast. “And he was like, ‘Oh, that’s sort of interesting,’ and started to do some research into the history of Mayan people in the past and today, and felt like, ‘Oh, here’s an anchor point that could be really interesting,’ that gives Namor a specificity and gives, now, the world of Talokan a specificity that both narratively makes sense with the story I and Ryan wanted to tell and also visually is an incredibly rich playground to talk about.”

What is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever about?

In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda fight to protect their nation from invading forces in the wake of King T’Challa’s death, and a new threat emerges from the hidden undersea nation of Talokan.

The film sees the return of Letitia Wright as Shuri, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross. New cast members will include Tenoch Huerta as Namor, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Mabel Cadena as Namora, and Alex Livinalli as Attuma.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still in theaters ahead of its Disney+ release on February 1st.

What’d you think of the Black Panther sequel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!