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Untitled Namor film
Based onNamor
by Bill Everett
Produced byKevin Feige
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The untitled Namor film is a potential American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Namor. Produced by Marvel Studios and to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it would be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Development of a Namor film began in 1997, with Universal Pictures involved by 2001. Multiple writers and directors were attached through 2009, and Marvel Studios had the rights to use the character by 2014, with Universal holding the distribution rights. The character debuted in the MCU film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), portrayed by Tenoch Huerta.

Production

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Background and early work

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Development of a film based on the Marvel Comics character Namor the Sub-Mariner began at Marvel Studios in April 1997, when Philip Kaufman was in talks to direct Namor: Sub-Mariner.[1] Kaufman said the next month that the film would explore environmental issues between Namor and humans over ecological concerns.[2] Sam Hamm was in talks to write the script by July 1999.[3] Universal Pictures entered negotiations in June 2001 to gain the film rights of Namor, with Marvel Studios president Avi Arad and Kevin Misher set to produce the film, while a search for writers was underway. Arad felt it could explore environmental issues such as oil spills, underwater bomb testing, pollution, and global warming.[4] Universal hired David Self as the writer in July 2002 for an intended release in 2004.[5] Randall Frakes was revealed the following month to have worked on the script for Namor, the Sub-Mariner at Saban Entertainment.[6]

Marvel Studios announced in October 2002 it had finalized a deal with Universal to produce the Sub-Mariner film after their work together on Hulk (2003). Arad called the film an "epic underwater tale of majestic fantasy", while Marvel said it would follow Namor's adventures as a prince from Atlantis, and described Namor as a "half-human/half-amphibian" and a "troubled rebel with a short temper" who helped humans and fought them over pollution. Stan Lee, Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, and Self were set as executive producers, while Ari Arad was a co-producer.[7] Marvel and Avi Arad entered negotiations for Chris Columbus to direct by July 2004. He signed on as director and producer of Sub-Mariner by that December, doing so through his production company 1492 Pictures,[8] by which point the film was set for release in 2007.[9] Columbus said in November 2005 that he was unlikely to make the film,[10] and Universal and Marvel Studios hired Jonathan Mostow to write and direct The Sub-Mariner in September 2006. The film was set to follow Namor discovering he is a prince of Atlantis integral in a war between the modern surface world and Atlantis. Feige said the heart of the film's story would be "tempered" with Namor being stuck between both worlds.[11] Mostow said The Sub-Mariner was still in active development in August 2009, explaining they were continuing work on the script and that Universal continually renewed the option to produce the property.[12]

Marvel Entertainment's chief creative officer (CCO) Joe Quesada said in May 2012 that Marvel Studios held the film rights to Namor.[13] Feige, who had since become the president of Marvel Studios, said in August 2013 that Universal still held the rights to Namor, with no plans then for the character to appear in Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise as a result.[14] Feige said in April 2014 that the film rights were a "little complicated,"[15] while The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit reported the next month that Marvel held the Namor rights instead of Universal.[16] Feige clarified the rights in July, explaining that Marvel could make a Namor film rather than Universal and Legendary Pictures as was rumored, but noted there were older contracts with other parties that would need to be negotiated out of before they could move forward with a film.[17] Quesada reaffirmed in June 2016 that Marvel had rights to Namor.[18] In February 2017, The Sub-Mariner was included in a production listing of projects in development,[19][20] when the production was expected to take place in Hawaii.[20] In April 2018, Feige reiterated the rights to Namor were complicated with Universal holding the distribution rights,[21] and said in October that Namor could appear in the MCU, with Marvel Studios deciding if and when that could occur.[22]

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Tenoch Huerta was cast to portray Namor in November 2020 for the MCU film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022),[23][24] in which the character is depicted as the king of Talokan,[25] an ancient civilization of underwater dwelling people connected to the Mayans,[24][25] and is revealed to be a mutant as he is in the comics.[26][27] Namor serves an antagonist role in the film, similar to some versions in the comics.[23][24] Michael Waldron, the writer for the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), said Namor was considered for that film as a member of the Illuminati, which he was in the comics, but his inclusion was dropped because Marvel Studios had other plans for the character.[28] In November 2022, Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore confirmed that they could not make a standalone Namor film since Universal still held the character's distribution rights, similar to the Hulk.[29] In March 2023, Citigroup financial analyst Jason Bazinet felt Disney may try to include the distribution rights to Namor, along with Hulk, in any potential sale of the streaming service Hulu to Comcast, the owner of Universal Pictures through NBCUniversal.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Fleming, Michael (April 14, 1997). "A Mania for Marvel". Variety. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. ^ Evenson, Laura (May 18, 1997). "Summer Movie Guide / Comics' Superpower To Turn Season's Movies Into Box-Office Gold / Hollywood raids DC's and Marvel's pantheons for their simple plots and boffo visuals". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  3. ^ Fleming, Michael (July 13, 1999). "Marvel takes cue from its superheroes". Variety. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Stax (June 9, 2001). "Sub-Mariner: The Movie". IGN. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Hiatt, Brian (July 12, 2002). "Comics' Trips". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  6. ^ Dunkley, Cathy (August 12, 2002). "Frakes blazes into Ember". Variety. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  7. ^ Worley, Rob (October 9, 2002). "Comics2Film: Sub-Mariner, Prime". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Brodesser, Claude (December 2, 2004). "Columbus off to sea". Variety. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  9. ^ "Marvel's Film Slate From 3rd Quarter Report". SuperHeroHype. October 28, 2004. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  10. ^ Douglas, Edward (November 12, 2005). "Chris Columbus Passes on Sub-Mariner". SuperHeroHype. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  11. ^ Stax (September 14, 2006). "Mostow Swims to Sub-Mariner". IGN. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  12. ^ 'Frosty' Weintraub, Steve (August 12, 2009). "Director Jonathan Mostow Provides an Update on Namor flick, The Sub-Mariner". Collider. Archived from the original on February 13, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Wilding, Josh (May 21, 2012). "Kapow '12: Joe Quesada Shares His Thoughts On Agent Coulson As Vision Rumors". ComicBookMovie. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  14. ^ Han, Angie (August 23, 2013). "Kevin Feige Teases Future Plans for the Hulk; Says Namor Is Still at Universal". /Film. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  15. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (April 7, 2014). "Marvel Studios Boss Kevin Feige Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers and What's in Store for the Marvel Cinematic Universe". IGN. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  16. ^ Kit, Borys [@Borys_Kit] (May 22, 2014). "But at least one thing is wrong: Universal does NOT have the rights to the Sub-Mariner. Marvel has them" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2019 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Tilly, Chris (July 18, 2014). "Kevin Feige Talks Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers & The Sub-Mariner". IGN. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  18. ^ Couto, Anthony (June 2, 2016). "Joe Quesada Says Marvel Studios Has the Rights to Namor". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  19. ^ "Preview – Production Weekly – Issue 1032 – Thursday, February 23, 2017". Production Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  20. ^ a b Erao, Matthew (February 16, 2017). "Rumor: Namor the Sub-Mariner Project in Development". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  21. ^ Arif, Shabana (April 23, 2018). "Marvel Studios Boss Addresses Namor's Complicated Rights Status". IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  22. ^ V. Swanson, Heather (October 26, 2018). "Marvel's Namor Could Surface in the MCU, Says Kevin Feige". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (November 20, 2020). "Marvel's 'Black Panther' Sequel Shoot to Begin in July (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  24. ^ a b c Bailey, Kat (July 23, 2022). "Tenoch Huerta Confirmed To Play Namor In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". IGN. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  25. ^ a b "'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever': Latest Action-Packed Trailer Arrives". Marvel.com. October 3, 2022. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  26. ^ Travis, Ben (September 26, 2022). "Namor Is 'A Dream Antagonist' For Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Says Ryan Coogler – Exclusive Image". Empire. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  27. ^ Coggan, Devan (February 14, 2023). "Kevin Feige opens up about Phase 5, Kang, and the future of the MCU". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  28. ^ Vary, Adam B. (May 10, 2022). "'Doctor Strange 2' Screenwriter Defends Wanda's Evolution, Talks Cameos and His 'Star Wars' Script". Variety. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  29. ^ Taylor, Drew (November 25, 2022). "Why 'Wakanda Forever' Villain Namor Won't Get His Own Standalone Marvel Movie". TheWrap. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  30. ^ Connelly, Eileen AJ (March 2, 2023). "Citi Thinks Disney Could Trade Hulu for Hulk". TheWrap. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.