A couple of weeks ago, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took to Hall H at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con to finally unveil what the team had planned for Phase 4 of the MCU. There were plenty of big reveals, with the announcement of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. Along with more information on a handful of TV shows heading to Disney’s upcoming streaming platform, there was plenty to chew on, even if there were a few notable absences.
Specifically, some fans were sad that Black Panther 2 wasn’t mentioned, though Feige has gone on record to say that there are plans for a follow-up to Ryan Coogler’s wildly successful 2018 movie. Details are scarce at the moment, though many are expecting the creative team from the first effort to make a return. Of course, there will also be a need for a new villain as well, and it seems like Marvel Studios already has a few ideas in mind.
One of our industry insiders has told us that Henry Golding, star of Crazy Rich Asians, is being eyed for the role. Specifically, Disney wants to tap Golding to play Namor, a human-mermaid hybrid of sorts who was one of Marvel’s first anti-heroes. In fact, there’s a theory going around that the MCU has already teased Namor in the past.
During a meeting hosted by Black Widow during Avengers: Endgame, Okoye, mentions something about oceanic seismic activity on the African continent. This threat is quickly dismissed, but some think that Namor’s responsible for the disturbance, and it seems they may be right.
Of course, this casting decision is unconfirmed at the moment and as always, should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, this is the same source who told us that the real Mandarin will be showing up in Shang-Chi and that Robert Pattinson will be our new Batman, both of which were later confirmed. As such, we’re inclined to believe them.
In any case, with pre-production on Black Panther 2 now underway, we’ll hopefully start to get some concrete details from Marvel Studios sooner rather than later.
