Namor to appear in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, confirms writer

Namor the Sub-Mariner was one of the most exciting additions to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For his performance as the vengeful and antiheroic king of the underwater nation of Talokan, Tenoch Huerta received widespread acclaim from fans and critics.

Huerta's performance as the Sub-Mariner impressed fans so much that they are now left wondering when the character will appear in the MCU next. Fortunately for fans of the Sub-Mariner, Jeff Loveness, the writer of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, has indirectly confirmed that Tenoch Huerta's antiheroic king of Talokan will appear in the upcoming MCU film.

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"I'm excited to write Namor": Jeff Loveness shares that he is thrilled to write about Tenoch Huerta's Sub-Mariner for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

The Sub-Mariner in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Image via Marvel)

In an interview with Comicbook.com, when the outlet told Jeff Loveness that they were waiting to see what he does with the film, the writer revealed that he was excited to write about the Sub-Mariner:

"Jeff Loveness: Namor, man. I'm excited to write Namor."

Although the news doesn't come directly from Marvel Studios, this statement confirms Huerta's involvement in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

While promoting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Tenoch Huerta revealed in a previous interview with Total Film how he was excited at the prospect of returning as the character for future MCU projects. He shared that there were a lot of stories that could be told about the Sub-Mariner, further pointing out the "fantastic" nature of his culture, "mythology and religion and everything":

"I hope so! I hope so!! Because I want a bigger contract! I want more zeroes in my contract! No, I’m joking. I mean, the mythology around Namor is huge. You can be crazy with all this cultural aspect, and you can create a lot of things with Namor, because they take a fantastic source of stories and mythology and religion and everything. So I hope they decide to keep going with the character, past its own story or whatever."

Moreover, Kevin Feige earlier shared Huerta's sentiments by saying how there were "80 years of stories" with the character that Marvel Studios could utilize. Speaking to Ta-Nehisi Coates in a podcast for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he said:

"You know, people who read the comics know there are 80 years of stories with Namor that we can tap into. So where and when, we’ll keep to ourselves for now, but we think that this is an incredibly iconic character that’s been introduced, probably to most people, most moviegoers, for the first time. And we very much expect them to want to see more."

However, producer Nate Moore revealed in an interview with The Wrap that Huerta's Sub-Mariner could return to the MCU but that he could not have a standalone project owing to rights issues with Universal, much like The Hulk. He revealed how that had impacted the marketing for Wakanda Forever, saying:

"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 also added how because of the rights, there wasn't much that could be done with Namor, further saying how the character's source material helped with the narrative building of Wakanda Forever:

"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."

Hence, fans can expect the character to appear in other MCU projects, such as Ryan Coogler's Disney+ Wakanda series, instead of him receiving his own film or standalone project.

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Namor's role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

As for the Sub-Mariner's role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the information is scarce. However, there are two possibilities in which the character can be utilized.

The ending of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever saw the Sub-Mariner and Talokan form a truce with Shuri (Black Panther) and the Wakandans. The latter told Namora that he did it so that when they helped Wakanda fight any threat, that kingdom would return the favor and help Talokan if it came under attack.

Therefore, fans can expect the Talokan ruler and Shuri to join forces with the Avengers to fight against Kang the Conqueror if he invades Wakanda or Talocan.

Another possibility would be the Sub-Mariner allying himself with Kang the Conqueror to protect Talokan. In the comics, Namor was often depicted as a neutral character who allied with villains and against heroes if it benefitted him and his people.