We’ve met a lot of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last 12 years, but there are still plenty of others from Marvel Comics lore who have yet to surface. Some already have their debuts lined up, like The Eternals and Shang-Chi, while there hasn’t been a peep about others, like Namor the Sub-Mariner. Still, look around the internet long enough, and you’ll often see Crazy Rich Asians and Last Christmas star Henry Golding frequently fancasted or depicted in fan art as Namor.
On the official side of things though, Henry Golding is making it clear that he hasn’t been approached by anyone at Marvel about playing the character. When recently asked about if he’s had any Namor talks, Golding responded:
No, of course not.
So there’s been no movement yet on seeing if Henry Golding could play Namor the Sub-Mariner, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen either. After all, he’ll be seen later this year as the eponymous lead of Snake Eyes, and if people respond positively to him in the G.I. Joe spinoff (or perhaps even ahead of the movie’s release), maybe Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios brass will want to recruit him to play the half human/half-Atlantean powerhouse.
It helps that Henry Golding is already a big fan of Namor the Sub-Mariner, who was introduced in 1939 and has been dubbed Marvel’s “first mutant.” As the actor also mentioned to MTV News while plugging his latest movie, The Gentleman:
He is one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. Because he straddles his own world. He’s not a villain, he’s not a hero. He’s an anti-hero in much of a sense. His sort of goals lie within protecting the Atlanteans, his people. And so whatever stands in that way, whatever is putting that at risk, that is his enemy.
And who could this potential enemy be if Namor the Sub-Mariner makes his way into the MCU? Henry Golding speculated that Wakanda is the “greatest threat” to the character’s existence, and he certainly isn’t the only one who thinks that. With Black Panther II primed for a May 6, 2022 release, many fans have talked about how Namor could be the sequel’s villain. He and T’Challa have clashed numerous times in the comics, and Wakanda is the only country on Earth that has technology rivaling what Atlantis has at its disposal.
But again, officially speaking, there’s been no word about anything happening with Namor the Sub-Mariner, though you certainly won’t find any lack of fans wanting to see him join the MCU. Making matters even more complicated is that we still don’t know the situation with the character’s film rights.
Like The Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner once rested at Universal Pictures, and in the last several years, there’s been conflicting information if Marvel has the full rights back to him or if Universal still holds the distribution rights. It’s possible that as is still the case with The Hulk, Namor will not receive a standalone movie since that would mean requiring Disney to cut Universal in, but he can appear in movies led by other characters, such as Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, without any issue.
In any case, Namor is one of the most prominent Marvel characters who still hasn’t received any time on the big screen yet, and bringing him into the MCU would allow the franchise to open up the underwater corners of this franchise, like the DCEU has already done with Aquaman. And hey, if it does turn out that a Namor appearance is already being discussed behind closed doors, when the time comes to cast him, maybe Henry Golding will get a call to audition.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for any updates concerning Namor the Sub-Mariner’s potential MCU future, but for now, look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what this franchise does have coming up in the near future.
