Ryan Coogler initially pitched Namor to appear in the first Black Panther movie, before making an appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The upcoming sequel to the hit 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie will see Tenoch Huerta debut as Namor as the film's main antagonist. He was recently confirmed to be a mutant, which marks the second time that a character is acknowledged as a mutant in the 616 universe of the MCU, after a shocking reveal saw Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) notice that she has a "mutation" in her genes in Ms. Marvel.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The integration of Namor in a Marvel Universe property has been a long time coming. Universal Pictures and Marvel Studios were initially going to do a Namor, the Sub-Mariner film after the release of Ang Lee's Hulk, with Chris Columbus and Jonathan Mostow attached to the project to direct. The movie was eventually canceled, as there was some difficulty regarding the rights between Universal and Marvel, after Disney acquired Marvel Studios.
Now, in an interview with Empire Magazine, Feige explained that Namor was pitched by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler to appear in the first film. In fact, the character was supposed to appear in one of the film's post-credits scenes, which would see the king himself walking up to his throne after the camera pans from Wakanda to Talocan. Check out what he says on the matter below:
Ryan had a pitch for a tag at the end of Black Panther. The camera would push through the palace in Wakanda, and then we’d see wet footprints leading up to the throne.
How Namor's Debut Could Change the MCU
As mentioned, Namor's debut has been a long time coming. Now that he's finally here, the MCU could once again change in a drastic way. It's interesting to see Feige talk about Coogler's initial pitch for the character, which would've likely set up a rivalry between King T'Challa and the Sub-Mariner for the second film. Unfortunately, audiences will never get to see this confrontation.
However, since Namor was imagined as the second film's main antagonist, he may become one of the MCU's major players. If he will be directly acknowledged as a mutant in the movie, that could also mean that he could appear again in future films. Marvel's plans are always kept under wraps, but a potential crossover between mutants in the MCU, before the X-Men get introduced, could be interesting. Time will tell what Namor's place in the MCU will be when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in theaters on November 11.