A very well-crafted piece of fan art casts Beauty and the Beast star Luke Evans as Marvel icon Namor the Sub-Mariner for Black Panther 2. Though the water-dwelling character has not been confirmed to appear in the upcoming Black Panther 2, rumors have been swirling that he will be introduced in the Marvel movie, with fans hoping that this is the case.

Should Namor appear in Black Panther 2, digital artist zerologhy has an idea of who should play him. The artist has chosen to depict Luke Evans in the role, dressing him in the kind of scaly, green costume one would expect for an underwater king. Though there has been no suggestion that Luke Evans is even being eyed for the role, he is a popular fan cast, along with the likes of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Donnie Yen, Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding and, of course, Keanu Reeves.

Luke Evans would be a good fit for both the role and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the actor able to strike a balance between drama and comedy, as well as looking formidable enough to throw-down with the likes of T'Challa.

Whilst details surrounding Black Panther 2 remain a mystery, a specific moment in last year's Avengers: Endgame has lent some credibility to the idea of the character making his live-action debut sometime soon. The scene in question takes place at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame during a post-snap Avengers catch-up, wherein Okoye and Black Widow discuss an underwater earthquake off the coast of Africa. Okoye responds to the situation by saying that they will "handle it by not handling it", leaving many to speculate that the reason for her standoffishness is due to the presence of Namor, who is well-known for dealing with underwater drama on his own.

Co-writer Christopher Markus recently discussed this theory, saying, "Sometimes, you plant seeds. Sometimes, they grow." Of course, this in no way confirms that Namor will appear in Black Panther 2, but it certainly indicates that the idea was to hint at the character's existence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

For those who are perhaps unfamiliar with the character, Namor the Submariner shares some similarities with DC's Aquaman. Namor is the son of a human sea captain and a princess of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis, which makes Namor a mutant. The character is often shown as something of an anti-hero, though he has also worked alongside the Avengers, and is known to switch allegiances depending on what he believes is best for his underwater kingdom and its people. Namor possesses the super-strength and aquatic abilities of the Homo Mermanus race, as well as the mutant ability of flight, along with other superhuman powers.

Over the years, Namor has had a rather complicated relationship with T'Challa, which is one of the reasons why fans are hoping that he will show up in Black Panther 2. Due to both characters being royalty, and leading powerful, hidden kingdoms, they can't help but sometimes butt heads, which is sure to test T'Challa's position in a similar way to the first Black Panther.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a while before getting a real poster, as Black Panther 2 will not be released until 2022. This comes to us from zerologhy.