'Wakanda Forever': Tenoch Huerta's Namor was almost introduced in 'Black Panther'
If Ryan Coogler's plan was greenlit, then the world would have seen Namor much earlier in the MCU. While Tenoch Huerta's character is pretty much the antagonist in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', there was a plan to provide a glimpse of the character in the first movie starring the late Chadwick Boseman. 'Black Panther' may have very well introduced the mariner as the next big baddie. And in another reveal, the actor feels that his character is a mutant (another X-Men Easter Egg).
The official synopsis reads, "In Marvel Studios 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda."
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Namor was almost introduced in 'Black Panther'
Even though 'Black Panther' was pretty much a family drama with Erik Killmonger (Michael B Jordan), there were plans to introduce Namor in the credits. In an interview with Empire, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige said, “Ryan [Coogler] had a pitch for a tag at the end of Black Panther. The camera would push through the palace in Wakanda, and then we’d see wet footprints leading up to the throne.”
While this may have made one helluva tease, the movie instead had two credit scenes. One was about Wakanda opening to the world, while the next was bringing back Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf, who was helped by T'Challa and Shuri after being programmed by Hydra. Namor's first tease was in the official trailer that saw him finally surface. Wakanda's plan to open to pooling resources to the world has a major impact on his underwater kingdom leading him to come out.
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' releases November 11 in the US.
