As history buffs might tell you, depictions of Atlantis extend far beyond Namor, appearing in all manner of books, films, and TV shows in the years since Plato first mentioned the city centuries ago. According to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” director Ryan Coogler, the team wanted to avoid retreading the same ground covered by other Atlantis-centric narratives. “We wanted our film to exist alongside those movies and be different,” Coogler told Inverse. “It was really out of respect to the audience, not wanting to give them something similar to other things that have come before it.”
Notably, there have also been rumors that Marvel Studios is not legally allowed to use Atlantis in a live-action setting with Namor, though no verifiable evidence of this claim is readily available. It’s possible that such an idea was born out of a misunderstanding regarding Marvel Studios’ ability to use Namor in a movie at all, as the character’s film rights were previously tangled between several studios, including Universal Pictures (via IGN).
One piece of speculation that may hold more water has to do with DC Comics’ Aquaman, a historic superhero who has often been compared to Marvel’s Namor. Both Aquaman and Namor typically hail from Atlantis in the comics. However, with DC’s aquatic mascot amassing more mainstream popularity thanks to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman appearing in flicks like “Justice League,” it’s possible that the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” team changed Namor’s origin to reduce similarities between the two.
