T’Challa will most likely be facing off against Namor the Submariner in Black Panther 2. Or at least, that’s what YouTuber Grace Randolph alleges to have learned from her sources in a recent video.
If true, Randolph’s report – uploaded on her channel, Beyond The Trailer – would confirm what many Marvel fans already expected to have been teased in last year’s Avengers: Endgame, when, during a group call between the surviving members of the superhero team, Black Panther lead Okoye mentions she’s about to investigate an underwater earthquake presumably related to Namor.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the source material, Namor – who made his debut in Marvel Comics #1, 1939 – is a mutant child born from the union between a human sea captain and a princess of the underwater empire of Atlantis. He possesses a number of superhuman powers as well including enhanced strength and the ability to breathe underwater.
Sounds familiar? So thought Randolph, who in her video complains about what she perceives to be Marvel Studios president and executive producer Kevin Feige blatantly cashing in on the commercial success of Aquaman, the only DCEU film – Todd Phillips’ Joker not included – that managed to gross over a billion dollars at the box office.
While we can’t argue against Randolph’s sources, and have actually been told the same thing by our own, her pessimistic outlook on the film’s development raises more than a few questions. Considering that Black Panther has garnered a devoted following around the country, been praised over and over at the Academy Awards as well as other prestigious ceremonies, and is widely recognized as a monument in the history of African American entertainment, it seems rather unlikely director Ryan Coogler would need to rip off any film – let alone Aquaman – in order to achieve success.
But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Though unfortunately, that wait may be quite long, as Black Panther 2 isn’t set to release until May 6th, 2022.
