There’s been a lot of hype around Tenoch Huerta‘s incredible performance as Namor, the leader of Talocan and antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many have hoped that this performance would kick off interest from Marvel Studios to get this character his own solo project, but sadly it seems that rights are still an issue for some of the Marvel characters.
According to The Wrap, the rights are still not fully with Marvel Studios and are something from the pre-Disney era. When Marvel Comics was about to go bankrupt, they sold the rights to their characters to studios that would work on films. That’s how Sony and Fox originally got access to the pantheon of popular characters long before Marvel Studios was even a thought.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore has confirmed to The Wrap that the character can definitely return in a future project, but Disney is not able to produce a standalone project based around the character. It seems the rights are still with Universal, who also holds the rights to Hulk and was the reason that character never got a sequel since the Edward Norton film back in 2008.
Sadly, this means we shouldn’t expect any further exploration of Talocan in a solo outing in cinemas or even Disney+. Perhaps they’ll find a way to bring the characters back as part of another project where he isn’t the main character but still has a major role. Of course, there’s also the chance that Disney sees the potential and is open to repurchasing the rights to the character; though that may be more difficult with a potentially higher price given his newly found popularity.
Source: The Wrap
