MCU Producer Explains Why There Won't Be a Namor Solo Movie After Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
In the weeks since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrived in theaters, there's a lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film that has been celebrated and spoken about. Among them is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the film's central antagonist, and one of the very first superhero characters to ever appear in the pages of Marvel Comics. Despite his illustrious history, Namor has never properly appeared in live-action prior to Wakanda Forever, due in part to his movie rights being tied up at Universal Pictures. As Marvel producer Nate Moore recently revealed, that arrangement with Universal actually had an impact on how Namor could be used in Wakanda Forever's marketing — and while Namor "can return", that deal currently stands in the way of Marvel Studios potentially producing a Namor solo movie.
"It honestly affects us more, and not to talk too much out of school, but in how we market the film than it does how we use him in the film," Moore said. "There weren't really things we couldn't do from a character perspective for him, which is good because clearly, we took a ton of inspiration from the source material, but we also made some big changes to really anchor him in that world in a truth that publishing never really landed on, I would argue, in a big way."
Namor also praised Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler for how the film recontextualized Namor and his world, leaning into Mesoamerican elements that were never among the canon in the comics.
"I've read every Namor comic ever written and I love them, but the world of Atlantis is a little vaguely drawn," Moore added. "It's maybe kind of Roman maybe. And so, Ryan is such a detail-oriented filmmaker that he wanted to anchor into something that felt as tangible and real as hopefully Wakanda fuels for people. And I think there was nothing from a business side anyway that was preventing us from doing that, which is great."
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.
What do you think of Ryan Coogler's open letter about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing exclusively in theaters.