Black Panther 2 star Tenoch Huerta talks the complexities of Namor vs. Wakanda

Tenoch Huerta as Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduces Tenoch Huerta's Namor, ruler of the underwater kingdom of Talokan, who is set to go up against Wakanda and the new Black Panther – though why the two sides come to blows is a mystery for now. 

But, considering Wakanda holds so much importance to so many people, that makes playing a character who's intent on causing the nation harm a fairly complex role. Huerta opened up on the nuances of bringing his character to life in a press conference attended by Total Film. 

"It is tricky when you have a character like this, because you're the antagonist, and you are going to destroy something that is valuable, not just in the story, but the people outside. A lot of people feel identification with Wakanda," Huerta explained. "I include myself in Wakanda, the narrative and the representation and everything. So now I have to play the bad guy who destroys, or tries to destroy, that legacy.

"But at the same time, I think, Ryan [Coogler, director], the script, he found a way to make it human, to justify why the people do that kind of thing," he continued. "It doesn't mean that it's okay or not, right or not, but it explains. Maybe it's not an excuse but it's a reason, it's an explanation for why the things happen, why do people choose different reactions in front of the grief or menace or whatever – the threats in life. And that's beautiful, because it's human. So we have these two characters taking different decisions with the grief and the threats."

Plus, as Huerta explained, Namor and Black Panther have common ground. "They share the same wound, historically, the representation of their cultures. But at the same time, as individuals, they share that wound. How they solve the problem is about their personality, their own history. So that's beautiful. That balance in a superhero movie and these layers are fantastic. It doesn't happen too much. It's enjoyable." 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters this November 11 as the final movie of Marvel Phase 4. In the meantime, check out our roundup of all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has on the way. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

Read more
The comics Copperhead and the MCU Copperhead.
Captain America: Brave New World – Meet Copperhead, a twist on the Marvel Comics villain played by a former Game of Thrones star
Captain America: Brave New World
Giancarlo Esposito confirms he was originally set to play Marvel's King Cobra in Captain America: Brave New World: "It was a bit of a whirlwind"
Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther
Marvel producer shuts down Black Panther 3's T'Challa recast rumors: "Everything you read online is not true"
Sidewinder in comics and in the MCU
Captain America: Brave New World - The comic history of Giancarlo Esposito's mysterious villain Sidewinder
Harrison Ford as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
The Leader returns to the MCU for the first time in 17 years, but this Captain America: Brave New World teaser doesn't want to spoil his new look just yet
Anthony Mackie and Giancarlo Esposito in Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World director reveals why a more comic book accurate version of villains Sidewinder and the Serpent Society were cut
Latest in Marvel Movies
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers with the rest of the gang during the superhero movie, The Avengers.
The OG Fox X-Men are back, with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and more joining the cast of Avengers: Doomsday alongside a whole new Avengers team to take on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom
Robert Downey Jr. sitting in a chair at the end of a long line of chairs
Everything announced during Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal live stream
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast assemble
Fantastic Four star says the Marvel movie "will go down in history" for rejuvenating the MCU, "in the same way the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther hit"
Wanda in Doctor Strange
Scarlet Witch star Elizabeth Olsen is one of the first Marvel actors to say she's not in the next pair of Avengers movies
Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Paul Rudd is still thinking about that one Thanos and Ant-Man fan theory: "I often wonder, though, could he really have stopped Thanos in that way?"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"