The Subtle Change Marvel Made To Namor's MCU Story
With projects like "Thor: Love and Thunder" and the Disney+ series "Ms. Marvel" fading into the past, fans are once again ready for what's next in Marvel Cinematic Universe. As far as big screen offerings go, next up on the docket is "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," which promises to be one of the most intense and emotional Marvel Studios efforts to date. It will see the Wakandan royal family, led by Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), defend their home in the wake of King T'Challa's (the irreplaceable Chadwick Boseman) death (via ComicBook.com).
For as somber as that premise may sound, as evidenced by the dazzling first trailer for "Wakanda Forever" that debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, there's plenty of MCU action and adventure in store, too. Not to mention, it'll also include the arrival of a character that fans have clamored to see in the franchise for years: Namor, as portrayed by Tenoch Huerta. At the time of this writing, few details have surfaced concerning his role in the narrative, leaving fans to turn to his rich history on the pages of Marvel Comics for guidance. Although, this may not be the most fruitful endeavor.
As it turns out, Marvel Studios isn't going for a one-to-one translation of Namor for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Some tweaks to the character are in order, such as this one that alters his story.
Namor does not call Atlantis home
As far as the Marvel Comics version of Namor goes, it's well documented that he's the ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis — not unlike DC's Aquaman, who didn't arrive in print until years after him. However, according to a listing on Hasbro Pulse for the Marvel Legends Namor action figure, his home will differ in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." The product description refers to Namor as the king of Talocan rather than Atlantis. The film's composer, Ludwig Göransson, corroborated the change in an interview with Marvel.com discussing how he went about assembling the soundscape of "Wakanda Forever."
All in all, it's not difficult to see why Marvel Studios changed Namor's home from Atlantis to Talocan. First and foremost, DC and Warner Bros. have shown off their version of Atlantis throughout the DC Extended Universe, most notably in 2018's wildly successful "Aquaman." Therefore, it would be wise to go in a different direction for the sake of the audience. Additionally, the design of the MCU's Namor takes heavy inspiration from Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and Aztec. With that in mind, it makes more sense to go with a locale similar in name to the Aztec Tlālōcān than the Greek Atlantis for the sake of consistency and representation.
The first "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" trailer only gave us brief glimpses into the Talocan civilization, with quick shots of its aquatic people, structures, and culture without revealing too much. Surely we'll learn more about all that it has to offer when the movie premieres on November 11, 2022.