As we get closer to the arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters next year, we’re seeing more and more of perhaps one of the most anticipated character debuts for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Namor and with him, the nation of Talocan. As we’ve seen, the film brings a fresh approach to the character and his people, rooting them in Mesoamerican culture, thus opening up a whole new world to viewers. And just one part of that is a battle cry that we’ve seen in previews for the film, a call from the Talocan people to “rise” along with a hand gesture. Now, stars Alex Livinalli and Mabel Cadena are revealing the origin of the phrase “¡Líik’ik Talokan!”, revealing that it wasn’t something that was originally in the story, but was created by the film’s cast.
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“That was not part of the original script,” Livinalli told CinemaBlend. “It was a consensus thing that we were like, you know, Black Panther, they have ‘Wakanda Forever’ and it’s so powerful, it means so much. And we’re like, we’re pretty similar to Wakandans, you know, we need something. So, after a conversation with the language instructor, we came up with Talocan Rises, which is Líik’ik Talokan, which is like ‘yeah, we’re here. This is our mantra, so to speak.’”
The Líik’ik Talokan mantra is accompanied by a hand gesture that looks a bit like the opening of jaws, though Tenoch Huerta, who plays Namor in the film, explained in an Instagram story shared by Despierta America’s Tania Orduña actually is more connected to the sun — and as some fans on Twitter have noticed, is reminiscent of a similar gesture that appears in various codices within Mesoamerican culture and history.
How Important is Namor For Audiences?
“Culturally, we are apart from [our] Indigenous roots,” Huerta told The Verge. “Embracing those roots and honoring these two sources — main sources in Latin America, which [are] African and Indigenous roots — is really important. I hope this helps people to embrace who they are. Who we are.”
“They taught us to be ashamed of who we are, but it’s time to cut [that shame] off and say, ‘Yeah, this is who I am; I never had anything wrong with me,” Huerta continued. “The mistake was in the eyes that were looking at us — that were judging us. Most of the time, it was ourselves. It’s time to change the glasses and now reconcile who we are with our ancestors — with our old, old grandparents — and embrace them.”
The highly-anticipated sequel has a brand-new synopsis: “In Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – one of the most highly anticipated film events of the year – Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters November 11th.
