Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Namor has already made quite the splash in the MCU, with Tenoch Huerta's performance in the emotional sequel being praised by fans and critics alike. But the mutant won't be getting a standalone movie anytime soon, says Marvel producer Nate Moore, simply because Disney doesn't technically own the distribution rights to the character.
Namor, like Hulk, is actually a Universal Pictures' property, which means that Marvel can "borrow" him – but there are limitations. "It honestly affects us more, and not to talk too much out of school, but in how we market the film than it does how we use him in the film," Moore recently explained to The Wrap.
"There weren't really things we couldn't do from a character perspective for him, which is good because clearly, we took a ton of inspiration from the source material, but we also made some big changes to really anchor him in that world in a truth that publishing never really landed on, I would argue, in a big way."
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sees Shuri (Letitia Wright), Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and the rest of the titular kingdom mourn T'Challa, following his death from an illness in its opening scene. But the pair are forced to put their grief aside and fight for their people when Namor, the ruler of the mysterious underwater nation of Talokan, threatens them after corrupt government officials try to steal precious vibranium.
Unlike Black Panther villain Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), Namor survives the events of Wakanda Forever, which means his future within the franchise is very much up in the air. In the same interview, Moore confirmed that Namor "can return" in future films, but reiterated that if he did, he wouldn't be allowed to appear by himself in any promotional material, unless it's as part of a series of similar posters. Complicated, huh?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas now. For more on the MCU, check out our guides to the Marvel timeline, all the upcoming Marvel movies, and how to watch Marvel movies in order.
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