During the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con Saturday night, fans received confirmation that actor Tenoch Huerta would be playing the character Namor in the upcoming sequel.
“Namor is amazing,” Huerta told Comic-Con attendees during the conference.
Last summer, when news of Huerta’s casting was announced, conversations about which character Huerta would portray immediately started online. Many people imagined him in the role of Namor.
Then, this past May, rumors started floating around that if Huerta, in fact, ended up playing Namor, Marvel was going to change the character’s origin story to incorporate Huerta’s Mexican roots. The original Namor, who was introduced to comic book audiences in 1939, was the superhero son of an Atlantis princess and a mortal sea captain.
Although Huerta didn’t reveal the backstory of his Namor, the first full trailer for the sequel, which debuted at Comic-Con, gave audiences a couple of hints about where Namor comes from. First, a silhouette of Huerta’s Namor is seen dressed in what looks like an Aztec headdress and armor. In another scene, a character with pointy ears, presumably Namor, is seen walking out of the water and toward what may be a part of Mesoamerica. There are also shots of Namor’s warriors in Aztec regalia.
During the panel discussion, Huerta talked about inclusion in Hollywood and how his role in Wakanda Forever is going to inspire a lot of people.
“I want to say something really fast about inclusion,” Huerta told fans at Comic-Con. “I come from the hood, and thanks to inclusion, I am here. I wouldn’t be here without inclusion. A lot of kids out there in their hood are looking at us, dreaming of being here. And they’re going to make it.”
Huerta then switched to Spanish to address the crowd: “Thank you to everyone – to all the countrymen,” he said. “All the Latin Americans – you guys crossed the river, and you all left everything you love behind. Thanks to that, I’m here.”
Other Latines who participated in the panel included Mabel Cadena (Dance of the 41) and Alex Livinalli (Ozark). Cadena, who is of Mexican descent, said, “I still can’t believe I am part of this,” and “¡Viva Mexico!” Livinalli, who is of Venezuelan descent, said his “mamá” was the first person he called to share the news. “It was a very exciting moment,” he said.