The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer secretly teases a second major change to Namor’s race in the MCU. The last movie in Phase 4 is poised to finally introduce the Atlanteans, who represent a huge corner of the Marvel Universe in the comic books. After years of theories on how they’d be handled, the trailer confirmed once and for all that Namor the Sub-Mariner and his underwater civilization exist in the MCU.

Namor’s MCU debut comes as the culmination of an ominous tease in Avengers: Endgame, which suggested – but didn’t prove – the existence of Atlantis in Marvel’s cinematic world. The long-awaited trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever laid any lingering doubts to rest by previewing a war that’s about to be raged between the people of Wakanda and Namor’s forces. It also unveiled official MCU designs for three principal characters tied to Atlantis in Marvel Comics. In addition to the Savage Sub-Mariner himself, Black Panther 2 is poised to introduce his cousin, Namora, and his greatest enemy, Attuma. From the looks of things, Namor, Attuma, Namora, and all the rest will be reimagined as warriors of a civilization inspired by the ancient Aztecs.

RELATED: Who Is The New Black Panther In Wakanda Forever?

Certain shots in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer hint at another change Marvel is making to Namor’s race. When on the surface, Namor’s allies look like their blue-skinned counterparts from Marvel Comics, but curiously, they look human while underwater. Namora, for instance, is blue at 1:32 but sports a more human appearance at 1:40, where her body is completely submerged in the water. This is a sign that unlike how the characters are depicted in the comic books, the MCU’s Atlanteans aren’t naturally blue. It appears that in the MCU, exposure to the open air changes their skin pigmentation.

Why Marvel Is Changing Namor’s Race In Black Panther 2

The massive adjustments to the Atlanteans in Black Panther 2 actually make a lot of sense. Their skin color changing when outside of the water helps distinguish Namor’s people from all the other blue-skinned races. The MCU already has the Kree, Yondu’s species, the Frost Giants, and Nebula’s race. For that reason, it’s good that the MCU is finding ways to keep the Atlanteans’ original appearance whilst also avoiding similarities to all the others that are already MCU canon. Its other noteworthy change is the decision to connect Namor’s people with the Aztecs. Though this move deviates from decades of comic history, Marvel seemingly swapping out Atlantis with Talocan from Aztec mythology is sure to help Marvel lessen the unavoidable comparisons between Namor and Aquaman.

Marvel’s Atlantis changes aside, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s take on Namor’s people are sure to be just as threatening as their comic counterparts. Regardless of what their culture is, all indications point to the MCU’s Atlanteans being just as formidable and fearsome as they were in the comics, but it looks like they’ll also share a key weakness. In the comics, the Atlanteans need special devices to survive out of water, and the trailer suggests the same is true for the MCU characters, which may be a detail that the Wakandans will need to exploit. Namor, though, is a different story. As the offspring of human and Atlantean parents, Namor can breathe air, which explains why he isn’t blue either underwater or on the surface.