How Namor & Atlantis Will Change Black Panther 2 (& The MCU)

Tenoch Huerta is reportedly playing Namor the Sub-Mariner in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - and here's how the character, and the world of Atlantis, would transform both that film and the MCU as a whole. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been setting up the introduction of Namor the Sub-Mariner for years - an Easter egg in Iron Man 2 appeared to point to the existence of his kingdom, Atlantis, as part of the MCU - but the studio has been reluctant to press ahead because of complicated film rights.

All that appears to be changing, with reports that Tenoch Huerta will play the MCU's Namor, making his debut in Black Panther 2. Writer and director Ryan Coogler proved a master at world-building in the first Black Panther movie, and no doubt he's intending to make Atlantis as compelling a location in the MCU as he did Wakanda. There are reports Marvel is looking to cast at least two other Atlantean characters as well, Namor's cousin Namora and his greatest political rival Attuma, whose plan to steal the throne frequently generates conflict between Atlantis and the surface world. This would mean a film that explores one kingdom, but one that shares the focus between two.

If these reports are accurate, what does this mean for Black Panther 2 and the future of the MCU as a whole? Both Namor and Atlantis are big additions to the MCU's lore, raising some fantastic possibilities.

How Namor Will Change Black Panther 2 & The MCU

In the comics, Namor is a human-Atlantean hybrid who has had a tense and fractious relationship with the surface world. He was a hero during the Second World War, actually allying with Captain America and a superhero team called the Invaders in the battle against the Nazis, but more recently he has grown extremely antagonistic towards humanity. This built to a head when Namor wound up locked in a war with Black Panther's nation of Wakanda, a conflict begun when Wakanda allowed the Avengers to hide there at a time when five mutants possessing the power of the Phoenix Force - including Namor - were attempting to rule the planet. Namor launched a devastating attack upon Wakanda, flooding its capital, killing thousands. Wakanda had prided itself on never being conquered, and Namor's attack was a blow to their national pride, one that could not go unavenged. Soon the Atlanteans and Wakandans were locked in a war that almost destroyed both civilizations, and was only ended by a Multiversal catastrophe that was part of the build-up to the "Secret Wars" event.

The first reports of Tenoch Huerta being in talks for Black Panther 2 surfaced back in November 2020, for what was believed to be the film's principal villain. This would seem to confirm the MCU's Namor will be an antagonist rather than an ally, who launches an attack upon Wakanda for unknown reasons - perhaps to acquire Vibranium, the precious metal that is both Wakanda's greatest asset and the reason other world powers would be wise to fear it. The question is whether Namor is a straightforward enemy to Wakanda, or whether he is rather more complex; the reported inclusion of Namora and Attuma points to a focus on Atlantean politics, which means Huerta's Namor could simply be a vain and proud man who has been manipulated into going to war.

How Atlantis Will Change Black Panther 2 & The MCU

The MCU's Phase 4 appears to be rewriting the franchise's history, a process that has begun on Disney+ - with Wanda Maximoff's origin story rewritten and the introduction of a super-soldier who served in the Korean War - but will continue on the big screen. Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings will finally explore the criminal empire known as the Ten Rings, while Eternals will introduce a group of ancient aliens who have protected Earth for millennia and have been worshiped as gods; it will also feature Kit Harington as the Black Knight, a character traditionally associated with the legend of Camelot. Viewed through that lens, then, the introduction of the MCU's Atlantis fits well with Phase 4. It represents another secret, hidden kingdom whose technology can rival Wakanda.

It's reasonable to assume that, like Namor himself, Atlantis will initially be portrayed as an antagonistic force. That fits with Iron Man 2's Easter egg, in which SHIELD already monitored a location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as a potential hotspot of trouble; Black Widow could be aware of this, explaining why she was so concerned about underwater earthquakes near Wakanda in Avengers: Endgame. Okoye believed the tremors were just a minor subduction of the African plate, nothing to be concerned about, but Black Widow's apparent paranoia could have been based on knowledge she picked up when she was a high-ranking SHIELD agent.

All this doesn't mean Namor and Atlantis will be villains in the MCU going forward; it is quite possible Namor has been manipulated by Attuma, and that he will end his policy of aggression towards the surface world by the end of Black Panther 2. Even if that is the case, though, there's no reason to assume the future relationship between Atlantis and humanity - and Wakanda in particular - won't remain strained. Wakanda will certainly be unlikely to forgive any experience of being humbled.

What Namor & Atlantis' MCU Future Could Be Beyond Black Panther 2

Namor battling Knull's men in King in Black.

Looking beyond Black Panther 2, Namor's future in the MCU will likely be influenced as much by out-of-universe factors as in-universe ones. Marvel Studios sold the film rights for Namor to Universal back in the 1990s. Although the general rights reverted to Marvel Studios long ago, in 2018 Kevin Feige indicated Namor's movie rights were still complicated, explaining "it’s not as a clean or clear as the majority of the other characters." Feige was most likely alluding to issues similar to those Marvel face with the Hulk, where Universal still own the distribution rights for solo movies. If that is indeed the case, then don't expect Namor to appear in his own films. Rather, expect him to be a secondary character who continues to appear on the big screen as an enemy - or perhaps even an unlikely member of an Avengers team.

Disney+, however, may be the perfect place to explore Namor and Atlantis in greater depth. Marvel Studios is working on a She-Hulk series, rather surprising given you'd expect the Jade Giantess' rights to be tied to those of her cousin (She-Hulk episodes will only be half an hour long, which may be a contractual as much as a creative decision in order to get around this). If the Hulk and Namor contracts are similar, then Marvel may be able to continue the story of Atlantis on the small-screen, helping reinforce the sense the Disney+ shows are essential viewing.

Meanwhile, it's interesting to note that Namor is generally considered Marvel's first mutant - and that may well prove to be true in the MCU as well. That would be quite fitting, and throwaway comments about mutants in Black Panther 2 could help to set up the MCU's X-Men as well. In the comics, Namor has frequently been seen as more willing to work with the mutants than humanity, largely because he rightly perceives the mutants as threatened by the prejudice of small-minded humans. Namor could well be used to add a geopolitical dimension to anti-mutant persecution, when mutants finally become commonplace in the MCU.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie