Namor the Sub-Mariner is finally making his leap to the big screen with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Namor, alongside the original android Human Torch, is the oldest character in Marvel Comics, making his first appearance in Marvel Comics #1 back in 1939 (Namor was created first, so it would essentially make him the first Marvel hero). The character has a long rich history in the comics and has had dealings with The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, and many more. He has been both an ally and an enemy to the heroes. He is one of the first comic book antiheroes, and his status as the first Marvel character has made him an appealing one for adaptation.

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It seems odd it has taken this long to get him on the big screen. By the time Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters, he will have had 83 years of comic book history behind him. Yet the road for Namor to the big screen was a long one, filled with numerous directors taking a crack at the aquatic-themed hero and a complicated studio rights issue that had prevented him from joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe until now. This is the history of Namor’s road to the big screen.

Namor’s Comic Book Origins

     Marvel Comics

It is important to understand Namor’s place in comics and understand why he was appealing to film studios. Created by Bill Everett Namor was the son of a human sea captain and Atlantean princess. Due to his two parents, Namor has unique abilities for both humans and Atlanteans and is considered the first mutant in Marvel Comics. While originally an antihero, he eventually joined up with other Marvel characters like Captain America and the Human Torch in World War 2 to make up the superhero team The Invaders.

Namor fell out of popularity alongside many other superheroes in the 1950s. However, during the Marvel Age of the 1960s when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were creating new superheroes, they decided to bring Namor back onto the pages of Fantastic Four #4. Namor discovers Atlantis destroyed and begins a war with humanity, and this would become a defining moment for the character. He would flip back and forth between working with heroes and villains.

Since then Namor has been a constant part of the Marvel Universe, working alongside the superhero team the Illuminati, the villain team The Cabal, and even one of the X-Men powered up by the Phoenix Force. Namor has been a fan favorite for years and with such a rich history Hollywood recognized this character had big screen potential but getting him in a movie would be harder than it appeared.

Early Hollywood Attempts

     Marvel StudiosDisney

The first attempt at a Namor movie was in 1997 with The Right Stuff and Invasion of the Body Snatchers director Phillip Kaufman set to direct, wanting to explore environmental issues. After having worked on Hulk with Marvel Entertainment, Universal Pictures secured the film rights to Namor in October 2002.

In 2004, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone director Chris Columbus was hired to direct (Columbus had previously passed on Spider-Man and was a producer on Fantastic Four at 20th Century Fox). While the studio set the movie for a 2007 release, by 2005 Columbus dropped out of the film. Then in 2006 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine director Jonathan Mostow signed on to direct. Mostow stayed on board the project for a while and even in 2009 revealed that Universal Studios will still be optioning the rights to make the movie.

Who Owns the Rights to Namor

By 2012, The Marvel Cinematic Universe had truly won audiences over with the release of The Avengers, the culmination of MCU’s Phase 1. After uniting Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk, it felt like anything was possible. While at the time it was unlikely that the X-Men or Spider-Man would be joining the MCU due to other studios owning their film rights, the sky was open for plenty of other heroes: Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and even Namor.

Yet nobody could give a straight answer on who exactly held the Namor film rights. In 2013 Kevin Feige said Universal still owned the film rights, but the following year said things were a little complicated regarding who owned Namor. The clearest picture came in 2018 when Feige said that while Marvel Studios held the rights to Namor, Universal Pictures still owned the distribution rights to a solo film. This is similar to The Hulk film rights, where Marvel Studios (and Disney) are allowed to use the character in other projects as a supporting character but if a solo project happens then Disney has to split the profits with Universal Pictures.

This has essentially kept another solo Hulk film from happening, instead making him a supporting character in Avengers movies, Thor: Ragnarök, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The same case might apply to Namor, with now the timing being right for him to join Marvel Cinematic Universe in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and may indicate how the character will be incorporated in the future.

Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

After years stuck in development hell, Namor is finally set to make his big screen debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film has kept much of his comic book origin with the one major exception of changing Atlantis to the lost Mayan civilization of Talokan.

Marvel Studios had planted seeds for Namor’s introduction as far back as Iron Man 2, where a map of the world shows a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo over the ocean indicating a threat in the ocean. He also was considered for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati like in the comics but was dropped due to plans for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Director Ryan Coogler has had plans for Namor as far back as the release of the first Black Panther with the original after-credit scene reportedly meant to be a hint at his arrival in the MCU.

Namor’s future in the MCU is currently unknown, made more complicated by who specifically owns the distribution rights to his solo film. If Universal does then there could be doubt a Namor-centric movie will be released, but that would not prevent Marvel Studios from putting Namor in plenty of other movies and series. Namor’s long history with The Fantastic Four makes him a likely supporting character in their upcoming MCU film, and with Namor being a mutant he certainly will cross paths with the X-Men when they join the MCU.

Namor could also be important in the battle against Kang the Conqueror in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or whatever threats await in Avengers: Secret Wars. Either way, it is highly doubtful after all these years of getting Namor to the big screen that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be his only film appearance.