Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally brought Namor the Submariner into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the character underwent some significant changes, with Atlantis swapped out for Talokan and his origin story rooted in Mayan legend.
While not everyone was happy about that, it went a long way in helping to differentiate Namor from DC's Aquaman.
Thanks to Marvel Studios concept artist Phil Saunders (who has spent the past year working on Disney's Tron: Ares), we have a new look at some sequences which didn't make it into the Black Panther sequel's final cut.
That includes a clash between Ironheart and Namora. "The script originally called for an extended battle between [Riri Williams] and [Namora] that would have taken them underwater," Saunders says. "It was inevitably cut to keep the focus on [Shuri] and [Namor], but gave me the opportunity to paint some dynamic shots."
We also see Namor riding an Orca into battle, an epic visual which eventually became a Funko Pop but didn't make any impact in the movie itself (in fact, we don't recall anything like this being included in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever).
Saunders also explained how he approached creating designs for Namor before Tenoch Huerta was cast. "In early images, I came up with a composite face for Namor before Tenoch Huerta was cast in the role, inspired by a mix of Javier Bardem and Gael Garcia Bernal," the artist reveals. "I tried out just a hint of Namor’s classic widow’s peak to see how far I could go without losing the ethnicity."
It's unclear what the future holds in store for Namor in the MCU. Last June, the actor was hit by a series of serious allegations by saxophonist María Elena Ríos when she accused him of being a "sexual predator."
Nothing seemed to come of that, but even after denying her "false and completely unsubstantiated" claims, Huerta pulled out of Netflix's Fiesta en la Madriguera and hasn't really been heard from since.
Check out this newly revealed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever concept art below.
In the Black Panther sequel, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of Talokan, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now streaming on Disney+.