Namor the Sub-Mariner is one of the few remaining marquee Marvel characters to never appear on the silver screen but now Tenoch Huerta is prepared to introduce the character in a major way as the antagonist of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Wakanda Forever afforded Ryan Coogler the ability to build another civilization into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While speaking with ScreenRant about the upcoming project, producer Nate Moore discussed this concept and how connections between Wakanda and Talokan (the Mayan-influenced version of Atlantis) play a major role in the sequel.
Because there’s such an interesting contrast between Talokan and Wakanda, that’s [what] I think drew Ryan as a storyteller to Namor in the first place. Obviously, there’s a history in publishing of Namor and Atlantis and the Black Panther and Wakanda being at loggerheads because they’re both such powerful nations that have such autonomy. But to also tell the story of colonization through the perspective of two people who’ve experienced it so differently made for a really interesting collision of ideologies.
Nate Moore
The themes of colonization and cultural identities are right within the wheelhouse of Ryan Coogler as a filmmaker. If he can keep the momentum that he brought with the original Black Panther (alongside his other directorial triumphs), then Wakanda Forever has all the earmarks to be another resonant classic. In that line of thinking, the Black Panther sequel could certainly match the quality of the first with another villain on the level of Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger. Early reviews of the film seem to indicate he’s hit the mark with Namor. Nate Moore further elaborated on the idea of Namor being a major threat and how that plays into the infrastructure of Wakanda.
Namor’s such a powerful character. It’s hard to think of anybody who could challenge Wakanda, right? It’s the most technologically advanced nation in the world. At times, it has a Black Panther, if not the Dora Milaje. Man, who’s going to scare these guys? That is a very short list. And all of a sudden they’re faced with somebody who’s more powerful than anybody they have, and it forces them to respond in a different way than any other person would, really. Namor is such an important character that you have to commit time to get to know him. So, it’s not like you can throw him into an ensemble and say, “Also this guy.” You want to take the time to build out that world. Hopefully, we were able to achieve that with the same love and dedication to the details as we did with Wakanda in the first movie.
Nate Moore
It certainly will be interesting to follow the audience’s response to the character and see if Namor will have the longevity of other notable antagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens exclusively in theaters on November 11, 2022.
Source: ScreenRant
