Tenoch Huerta is about to have his moment. The actor is set to debut as Namor the Sub-Mariner in this year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a role that will likely propel him into mainstream fame, but Huerta‘s mind is still focused on those who came before him. In an interview with Black Girl Nerds, the former Narcos: Mexico star explained that both himself and his character have a deep admiration for the late Chadwick Boseman‘s King T’Challa:
Well, my character, and personally, it is fun, because my character has a deep admiration for Black Panther… T’Challa… But, me as an actor and as a simple human being, what Chadwick means: so powerful, so deep, it’s extraordinary. And it’s… Yeah, it’s a big inspiration.
Tenoch Huerta
Boseman passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in 2020, leaving a big hole to fill in Wakanda Forever. Namor, ruler of a fictional undersea nation, will help fill the void, but as Huerta states beautifully, nobody will ever truly replace Boseman‘s impact on the franchise or the world at large:
So, in different levels, in the fiction and the real life, [to] be part of this and feel his presence… through the legacy, through the people who [were] involved in this project is fantastic. As I mentioned a moment before, it’s like his shadow is in the wall. So you line the shadow, and then you put a lot of colors, and music, and love, and you are part of that because it’s your colors as well. You know, your culture, your music is there, and it’s beautiful [to] be part of that, you know what I mean?
Tenoch Huerta
It seems Huerta enjoyed his time working on the film, and his comments continue to solidify the idea that the Black Panther sequel will still very much involve Boseman‘s influence. In the comics, Namor and T’Challa have a longstanding relationship that’s been both friendly and volatile at different points in time. This dynamic will unfortunately not be realized on the big screen, but the door is wide open for whoever ends up donning the Black Panther mantle to craft a new form of rivalry with the Sub-Mariner.
Source: Black Girl Nerds
