The Villain of 'Black Panther 2' Is a Brand New Character to the MCU

Ever since the passing of Chadwick Boseman in Aug. 2020, the future of the Black Panther film series seems to have had one issue after another. Fans have wondered if and how the movies could go on without a T'Challa. Not to mention there have been a number of delays in filming the upcoming sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Fortunately, production on Black Panther 2 is still underway. Fans want to know all the details they can before the film is scheduled to be released. After the bad guy from the first movie died, who will be the villain in this one? It turns out that Marvel is bringing out a whole new character from the comics for the role. Here's what we know about him.

As of writing, the villain for the film is strongly rumored to be Namor McKenzie a.k.a. Sub Mariner, the King of Atlantis. According to Screen Rant, Wakanda and Atlantis have had beef for a while because T'Challa and Namor do not get along. They first met in Rise of the Black Panther #2 and they initially shared good rapport. They even worked together to catch criminals who escaped the underwater city.

Although the two had a positive working relationship at one time, T'Challa had his concerns about Namor and whether he was trustworthy. Unfortunately, his suspicions turned out to be true when Namor attacked Wakanda in Avengers vs. X-Men.

Rumor has it that Namor is set to appear in the second Black Panther movie alongside his cousin Namora.

Namor is more than just the king of Atlantis. Like most characters in the MCU, he's got a tragic backstory that drives his character. According to his profile on Marvel's website, he wasn't always the leader we know him as. He was born to a human sailor named Leonard McKenzie and Fen, the daughter of the Atlantean Emperor at the time.

In the 1920s, Leonard and Fen meet during the former's quest for the mythical Helmet of Power. He accidentally causes an avalanche that damages the hidden city of Atlantis. Upon being asked by her father to investigate, Fen encounters Leonard for the first time.

Fen ends up staying aboard Leonard's ship and the two eventually get married. Unfortunately, an Atlantean search party mistakes Leonard and his crew as kidnappers and kills everyone on board trying to "rescue" her. She is returned to Atlantis, but eventually gives birth to Namor.

As he matures and becomes a hero, Namor harbors a short temper and a distrust for "surface-dwellers." Throughout his career, he would temporarily join other hero groups like The Illuminati.

Namor isn't the only Atlantean rumored to show up in Black Panther 2. We might also see Atlantean warlord Attuma. The Direct reports that he will supposedly be one of the "major players" in this sequel.

Although it hasn't been confirmed, an image of Attuma's film design has circulated on Twitter. Some people have suspicions that he is the true villain of Black Panther 2. "Hopefully, Attuma is the bad guy and not Namor," said one tweet. Someone responded by saying, that it was supposed to be Namor.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on Nov. 11, 2022, but you can watch the first one on Disney Plus now.