‘Black Panther’: Why Namor May Never Get a Standalone Movie Following His MCU Debut in ‘Wakanda Forever’

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced a new villain to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Namor (Tenoch Huerta). The Sub-Mariner is a Yucatec Mayan mutant-hybrid who rules the underwater realm of Talokan — which, like Wakanda, is rich in vibranium. He was supposed to appear in the end credits scene of the first Black Panther film, teasing his arrival in the sequel. But, that idea was scrapped for the exact same reason why the character may never get a standalone movie.

‘Black Panther’ didn’t tease Namor’s arrival, but ‘Avengers: Endgame’ did (sort of)

The MCU is known for its Easter eggs, so it should come as no surprise to fans that Namor’s arrival was seemingly teased in Avengers: Endgame. As Gamesradar points out, it happened during a meeting at Avengers headquarters after Thanos’ snap. Black Widow led the discussion, along with the holograms of Captain Marvel, Rocket Raccoon, and Okoye.

When Natasha asks about the “tremors” affecting Wakanda, Okoye tells her, “It was a mild subduction under the African plate.”

“How are you handling it?” Natasha asks, to which Okoye replies, “It’s an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it.” 

This brief moment was seemingly an Easter egg that teased Namor’s arrival in Wakanda Forever. But, according to writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley, that scene wasn’t really a Namor reference.

“I wish we were that smart,” Markus told The Hollywood Reporter.

Why Namor may never get a standalone movie after his debut in ‘Wakanda Forever’

Director Joe Russo said that the scene was “maybe” a hint that Namor was coming, but it was never a confirmation. The reason is, the rights to the character partially belong to Universal Studios. 

In fact, Namor was supposed to be in a Black Panther post-credits scene that would have featured the Wakanda throne with wet footprints leading up to it. But, Marvel couldn’t tease the character’s arrival at that point because of the character rights issue with Universal.

It wasn’t until a year after the release of Avengers: Endgame that Marvel was able to work out his appearance in Black Panther 2, when they secretly hired Huerta in 2020. Director Ryan Coogler announced his casting, confirming Namor’s arrival in the MCU.

However, Marvel and Universal still share the character rights. So, the chances of Namor getting a standalone movie are slim.

Marvel sold the rights to a bunch of characters years before ‘Black Panther’ 

Long before the MCU became the most powerful juggernaut in Hollywood — back in the 1990s — Marvel had serious money problems. Which caused them to sell the rights to a bunch of characters to different studios. 

In 1997, The Right Stuff’s Philip Kaufman was developing a movie about Namor: Sub-Mariner when X-Men went into development at Fox. Obviously, nothing ever came from the project, but a lot of those character rights are still scattered among various studios. And even though Namor is back in Marvel’s hands, there’s still a loophole when it comes to distribution rights.

This is why Hulk hasn’t had a solo movie since Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk in 2008. That film was a collaboration between Marvel and Universal. But, Universal has distribution rights to any solo Hulk film moving forward. The same goes for Namor — which means fans will have to wait for a new deal between Marvel and Universal if they want a solo flick from the character in the future.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.