Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about to burst into theaters. Trailers and clips have fans intrigued. They expect this movie pull phase 4 of the MCU out of its slump. After all, the movie is poised for success with a new Black Panther and a new villain, Namor, making his MCU debut. And now, new information has revealed why Namor is called that in the MCU.
Why is Namor called that in the MCU universe?
Namor in Black Panther
Namor, the Marvel Universe’s Aquaman, finally surfaces in Black Panther. But Marvel changed their backstory a lot in the movie. Now, he is not the king of atlantis but from Talokan, an underwater world similar to that of Atlantis. One of the trailers states that his people call him Kukulkan and his enemies call him Namor.
The name Namor is interesting because many Marvel fans have said it’s just Roman’s name backwards. And in the comics, his full name is Namor Mackenzie. But since Marvel incorporates Mesoamerican history into the character, it’s expected that the meaning of his name will change as well.
Victoria Alonso, Director of Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios Executive Producer Victoria Alonso in an interview with Deadline during the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere explained why King Talokan is named Namor.
In the video, she says the name is spoken as Nuh-Mor instead of Nay-Mor or any other such pronunciation. She also says it’s a shortened form of “El niño sin amor”, which basically translates to “The boy without love”. This is interesting because it hints that he may have been abandoned by his parents.
You can check out the clip of the interview below:
#WakandaForever EP Victoria Alonso on the meaning of #namor : the boy who grew up without love pic.twitter.com/MrvFqcL0Fz
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) October 27, 2022
What role will Namor play in Black Panther 2?
Namor destroys Wakanda
We know that Namor is the main antagonist of the film and that he will attack Wakanda. While his motives for doing so remain unclear, Namor actor Tenoch Huerta previously said it was because Wakanda decided to reveal himself to the world.
Presumably, the Talokans would be embarrassed by this decision as it would also mean their world is inadvertently exposed as well. And they may fear that surface dwellers will attack their mystical world as they have before. This may inspire Namor to defend his kingdom and possibly force Wakanda into hiding as he was. It will be interesting to see how this conflict unfolds and how the new Black Panther resolves this issue.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases November 11, 2022.
