Over the weekend, a first look at Namor the Submariner in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever found its way online. Promo art showing characters prior to their "official" unveiling has become commonplace, with Ms. Marvel, The Flash's Batman, and the entire Eternals cast just a few of the most recent examples.
The response to Marvel Studios' redesigned Namor has been a little mixed, though mostly because the MCU will put a different spin on the anti-hero. Borrowing heavily from South American and Mayan imagery, this Namor is definitely different, but we'd argue that actor Tenoch Huerta still looks the part (for what should be an exciting reimagining of the King of Atlantis).
Now, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star has taken to Twitter to respond to those leaks!
Sharing a photo of SpongeBob SquarePants' Mermaid Man, the caption below translates to, "Tenoch images are leaked..." Clearly, he's having some fun with what's happened, and we're sure he's noticed at least some of the complaints being made about how the character looks.
Comic accurate or not, Namor was always going to look a little silly on screen, though we'd give Marvel Studios credit for at least trying to ground the character and tie him to real-life history. Ultimately, he still looks like Namor and even has wings on his feet. As a result, why some fans are so horrified by this take on the Black Panther sequel's antagonist is more than a little baffling.
There's a lot of intrigue surrounding how Namor and Atlantis will factor into this movie, especially with T'Challa no longer part of the MCU following Chadwick Boseman's tragic death. Hopefully, a trailer is imminent because we'd love to finally get a better idea of what to expect.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters on November 11, later this year!