After ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ hits Disney Plus, where can we expect Namor to return to the MCU?

When it was confirmed that Namor would join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the main antagonist of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a vista of possibilities opened up to the franchise. 

With a comic book history taking all the way back to 1939, Namor’s storylines have overlapped with dozens of other superheroes throughout the years, making his return to the MCU beyond Wakanda Forever not only possible but inevitable. While his future remains relatively up in the air at the moment, fans haven’t halted their theories about where he could make his encore appearance next. 

Actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía has made it known that he’d love to continue playing the Sub-Mariner in future Marvel projects. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out where his character could show up next. There are several possibilities that span all the way to Avengers: Secret Wars (since pretty much every Marvel character will make an appearance in that one) but here are the upcoming movies where Namor is most likely to make an appearance.

Black Panther 3

It goes without question that the most likely return for Namor will be in Black Panther 3, even if the threequel hasn’t been confirmed yet (well, not according to Letitia Wright). Given Namor’s temporary truce with Wakanda at the end of Wakanda Forever, there’s a high chance the stakes could be raised in Black Panther 3 since it’s clear Marvel isn’t finished with its vibranium storyline. The likelihood is high that an all-out war between not only Talocan and Wakanda but also the United States government is on the horizon. 

Fantastic Four

For those unfamiliar with this complicated storyline from the comics, Namor actually has a rich history with the Fantastic Four in that he fell in love with Sue Storm. The Sub-Mariner often stole her off to Atlantis (Talokan in the MCU) on multiple occasions in attempts to make her his queen. That’s not to say Sue doesn’t love Reed Richards; they are Marvel’s First Family after all. There’s just a bit of a love triangle going on – Marvel’s first love triangle, we might add. This means the “boy without love” could very well find some should Marvel choose to explore that storyline. Fantastic Four could be the perfect place for it, and possibly the next time we see Namor since the movie has a confirmed release date of Feb. 14, 2025, whereas Black Panther 3 hasn’t even been greenlit.

X-Men 

You may be wondering why Namor would make an appearance in the X-Men movies, but the history between the two actually runs pretty deep. If you recall, Namor referred to himself as a mutant in Wakanda Forever – and that’s because he is. In the ‘60s, he was even referred to as the “first known mutant of our time.” It’s still a way to go before the X-Men officially join the MCU (likely to kick off with Deadpool 3 on Nov. 8, 2024), but it’s surely only a matter of time before Namor is worked into the equation.

But don’t get your hopes up for a Namor solo film…

There’s a reason it took the MCU so long to bring Namor into the fold. As it turns out, Universal controls the rights to any standalone adventures of the ruler of Atlantis (Talokan in the MCU), similar to Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. That doesn’t mean we won’t get more Namor – it just means he’ll be relegated to supporting roles. But hey, as mentioned above, supporting roles don’t necessarily mean boring roles. There’s a ton of source material ripe for the picking. It’s just a matter of which bits Marvel takes and which it leaves behind.