Is Namor the Sub-Mariner about to surface in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Super Bowl Sunday saw Marvel Studios unleash a Multiverse of madness with a new Doctor Strange 2 trailer during the Big Game, giving fans their first tease of the Illuminati: a cabal of comic book heavy-hittersDoctor Strange, Iron Man of the Avengers, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Black Bolt of the Inhumans, Professor X of the X-Men, and Namor of Atlantis. The trailer, which sees Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) brought before a council by Ultron Sentries, appears to reveal the MCU Reed Richards and a Multiversal variant of Professor X (Fox’s X-Men star Patrick Stewart).
In the comics, Namor is an Atlantean mutant who rules over his underwater kingdom as the sometimes ally — and sometimes enemy — of the surface-dwelling Marvel superheroes. He’s joined forces with Doctor Strange as a member of The Defenders, a non-team that has included the Hulk, reuniting with the Sorcerer Supreme as part of the Illuminati.
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The aquatic anti-hero is believed to appear in an antagonistic role in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, rumored to be played by Narcos: Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but online rumors claim the kingdoms of Wakanda and Atlantis will clash in the Black Panther sequel scheduled for a November 11 release in theaters.
When Strange, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and the dimension-hopping America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) cross over into new realities in Doctor Strange 2, they may encounter a live-action Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) and a Captain Marvel who doesn’t appear to be Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). Because of the latest trailer’s hinted-at appearances of Reed Richards and Charles Xavier, some fans speculate the Illuminati roster will count Namor — and even a Superior Iron Man variant played by Tom Cruise — as members.
See those theories below. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters May 6.
