The online community tends to boil the latest developments in superhero cinema down to a Marvel vs. DC debate at the end of the day, but Kevin Feige’s outfit has stolen a march on the inevitable arguments by confirming that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever villain Namor will not be the king of Atlantis.
Instead, the big bad of Ryan Coogler’s hotly-anticipated sequel will hail from the kingdom of Talocan, which dovetails nicely with the aesthetic and cultural changes being made to Tenoch Huerta’s people as a whole. While the decision may have roots in the overall design and casting process of Wakanda Forever, folks have a sneaking suspicion it may have been done to avoid a certain Jason Momoa-shaped elephant in the room.
After all, DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes to theaters only four months after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is a short timeframe to bombard casual audiences with two comic book characters who have superficially similar origins, dwellings, and existences. MCU supporters agree with the decision, then, but they’re still a little sad about it.
The Wakanda Forever teaser has been going down a storm online since debuting during San Diego Comic-Con, and while everyone has known for months that Huerta was set to bring the Sub-Mariner into live-action for the very first time, that doesn’t make it any less of an exciting prospect.
We don’t know an awful lot about the second visit to the fictional African nation, but we do know we’re hyped about getting there.