Aquaman Paved Way For Black Panther 2’s Namor, Says Ryan Coogler
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler is praised Aquaman for paving the way for Namori’s introduction. The director recently discussed in an interview how the creative team at Marvel intends to separate the underwater antihero from his god-like counterpart of DC Comics, trying to understand what the big fans would respond to. “I think so Aquaman out in the world, in the language of the film, and to be successful in the markets, I think it was a wrong direction for us to lean on the things that made Namor different from Aquaman, “he said.
Coogler went on to suggest that antiheroes like Namor, also known as the Sub-Mariner, have been gathering dust for years, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe prioritizes other characters. While both Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Tenoch Huerta’s Namor are rulers of their respective underwater realms, there are a few things that separate the two. First, the latter is an antihero, sporting winged ankles and divided into two worlds—above and below water—which adds an extra level of internal conflict. “He has to be very confident and dangerous,” Coogler explained, “It’s always interesting. He should be a loving person. Namor, in the comics, is very romantic. He beats people’s wives, you know what I’m saying?
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However, adding a love interest to the character would interfere with the tonal aspects of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which to some extent, honors the late lead from the original 2018 film, Chadwick Boseman. In this case, the main theme was cultural clarification, as the kingdoms of Talokan and Wakanda clashed. “The gray area is emerging: this idea of a family drama mixed with a geopolitical thriller, mixed with a little crime film,” Coogler added. “The story of him and his mother, and his life and death, had an impact on his view of the world. That gave us another part of Namor in publishing, extreme xenophobia.”
This is in stark contrast to DC Comics’ Aquaman, who when conceived by a human father and an Atlantean mother, was treated as an outcast, developing contempt for the underwater kingdom and its people, and having no inclination to rule. Released in 2018 Aquaman re-introduced Arthur Curry (Momoa) as a lovable, violent person, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Namor was fueled by rage, growing hostile towards outsiders and expecting an attack from the fictional East African region at any second. .
It is also worth mentioning that according to the word of God, the kingdom of the Sub-Mariner in the Marvel comics is called Atlantis as well, similar to the DC Comics version. However, the MCU film Phase Four also renamed it Talokan, a name possibly derived from “Tlālōcān,” which is described as an Aztec paradise ruled by the rain god Tlāloc. The moniker change allowed Coogler to connect Namor to the mythology of Mesoamerica, creating a rich sense of world-building while avoiding any similarities Aquaman’s Entering Atlantis.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has crossed an impressive $330 million (roughly Rs. 2,700 crore) at the worldwide box office, climbing the ranks as the second-biggest theatrical opening of the year. The production of $ 250 million faced several obstacles, from scheduled injuries, the epidemic of COVID-19, and the disappearance of the lead Boseman, which caused the rewriting of the script of the film.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now showing in Indian theaters in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
