Why Namor won’t appear in a solo Marvel movie

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore explains what’s going on with the rights to the film’s breakout character, Namor.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is sitting atop the U.S. box office for a third week, and some of the sequel’s success can be attributed to Namor, the underwater anti-hero who has been a hit with critics and audiences alike.

But getting the character – who is also knowns as Sub-Mariner in the comics – onscreen has been a challenge for the folks at Marvel, as like the Hulk, Namor’s rights were sold to Universal back in the 1990s.

Meaning – again much like Hulk – Namor can appear as a supporting character in someone else’s movie, but can’t headline his own solo project.

What can Marvel do with Namor in the MCU?

According to Black Panther 2 producer Nate Moore, Marvel can do what they like with Namor within a movie, they just have to be careful when marketing that 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 told The Wrap. “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.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sets Namor up as a recurring character, and Moore assures The Wrap “He can return.”

Why Atlantis became Talokan in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

In the comics, Namor hails from the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. In the movie, he rules over the underwater kingdom of Talokan. Moore says that has nothing to do with rights issues, and was more to do with storytelling.

“I’ve read every Namor comic ever written and I love them, but the world of Atlantis is a little vaguely drawn,” Moore told The Wrap. “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.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas now. For more on the movie, head here.

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