Black Panther: Wakanda Forever doesn’t arrive in theaters until November but with filming still ongoing in Atlanta, there have been new set images that suggest a long-standing rumor that the Black Panther sequel will see the introduction of Namor and the city of Atlantis. The movie will be the third Marvel Cinematic Universe release this year, following on from May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder in July, the spot that was originally reserved for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever until Disney reshuffled their Marvel Studios release schedule.
The rumor that Wakanda Forever will feature Namor the Submariner began almost back when the movie was first announced. The character himself has been a part of Marvel Comics since 1939 and was one of the original Marvel superheroes. In the years that have followed, the aquatic hero has featured in stories about Captain America, the Fantastic Four and many more. With The Fantastic Four set to make their debut in the MCU soon, it is not surprising that Marvel fans have been expecting Namor arriving sometime soon. The original rumor suggested that, just like T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War, Namor’s appearance in the Black Panther sequel will introduce the character before he gets a bigger role in the Marvel story.
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New images shared on Twitter by fan account Black Panther: Wakanda Forever News, via Atlanta Filming, show a set build around a water tank being used. While there is no confirmation that this is correct, the post goes on to claim that the scene being filmed includes Namor and the Atlanteans. There is evidence to support the belief that Namor is going to appear in the MCU, with hints of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interest in the oceans apparent way back in Iron Man 2, and recent ocean disturbance by the Emergence in Eternals could also be linked to the awakening of Atlantis, similar again to how politics and the threat to Wakanda led to the arrival of Black Panther.
Marvel Comics Have Depicted A Volatile History Between Wakanda and Atlantis Which Could Feature In The MCU
Marvel Comics
Black Panther was a huge hit when it was released in 2018, standing out from the many superhero movies and earning itself a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. With a number of topical themes playing out in the movie, including the conflicts between different Wakandan factions, the sequel could see this same kind of conflict elevated to a larger scale between the Kingdoms of Atlantis and Wakanda that would go some way to mirror events in the comic books.
Among the devastating events to take place between the two Kingdoms, the Avengers vs X-Men story saw Namor flooding Wakanda, and it is this kind of conflict that would certainly play to the strengths of the Black Panther kind of storytelling. It would also potentially be one of the first stepping stones to the arrival of both the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with both groups likely to cross paths with Namor at some point in the future. With around nine months still to go before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits cinemas, it will probably be quite a while before we get any confirmation about any of this from Marvel Studios.
