Namor Movie Rights Explained: What Marvel Can (& Can"t) Do In MCU"s Future
The movie rights to Namor have long been a point of discussion, and the conversation is still continuing after the character's debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. During Phase 4's Black Panther sequel, Tenoch Huerta introduced Namor to the live-action MCU for the first time, and the character is set to make more appearances in the MCU's future. However, much like the movie rights to Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk, Namor's distribution rights are caught up between Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures. This makes his future in the franchise unclear, but Marvel Studios will surely want to hang onto the original Marvel Comics antihero.
Namor the Sub-Mariner debuted publicly in Marvel Comics (then known as Timely Comics) in 1939's Marvel Comics #1, making him one of Marvel's original characters in publication. Over the years, several failed attempts were made to bring Namor into live-action, most prominently in his own TV series that was in development during the 1950s. Namor was among various major Marvel Comics' characters whose movie rights were sold to other studios, joining the ranks of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man. This meant that Marvel Studios couldn't produce a project featuring Namor, though the line has since been blurred.