Namor, Marvel’s first mutant, aka the Submariner, is being rumored and speculated for an appearance in Eternals.
15-year-old Zein Al Rafih, a Serbian refugee known for the Oscar-nominated Lebanese film Capernaum, reportedly stated on social media that he has been cast in Eternals and teased his role, which is leading to speculation on Reddit that Al Rafih is playing the young Atlantean prince:
I play the role of a kid whose father gets killed by sea monsters then when my character gets a bit older it’s played by a different actor.
Last year also saw Salma Hayek, who plays Ajak, seemingly confirm Zein Al Rafih for Marvel’s Eternals when Hayek posted a photo on Instagram of the 15-year-old along with Lia McHugh, who is playing Sprite in the movie.
“Hanging with the Eternals’ youth,” Hayek said.
Salma Hayek Teases Eternals with Lia McHugh and Zein Al Rafih
Regarding why it’s thought that Zein Al Rafih might be playing Namor is because the character description stated above somewhat fits with Namor’s origin, as his human father was killed by Atlanteans (very similar to Aquaman, though worth a note is that Namor predates Aquaman by a couple of years).
There have also been those rumors of Namor being the villain in Black Panther 2 and Dwayne Johnson wanting the role, so some are guessing Marvel might be using Eternals to introduce Namor.
If I had to guess, I would say Zein Al Rafih is not playing a young Namor, but a younger version of one of the Eternals in a flashback scene, as again, Salma Hayek says she is with the Eternals youth.
Regarding the character’s father getting killed by “sea monsters,” that could easily be one of the Deviants, the monstrous enemies of the Eternals from the comics that are also appearing in the film, though Feige hinted they will be a lot different than the comics for the movie.
Worth a mention, as some of the Redditors have pointed out, is that Atlantis is a vital part of the Eternals story as the Celestials are the ones that sunk Atlantis and Lemuria in the first place.
If anything, the character description might simply confirm the use of Lemuria in the movie, which was an underwater city ruled by the Deviants and their human slaves.
Marvel’s Eternals cast, release date, synopsis:
Eternals gets released Nov. 6, 2020 directed by Chloé Zhao starring Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as the cosmic-powered Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Salma Hayak as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as the aloof longer Druig, Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena, and Kit Harrington plays Dane Whitman.
Synopsis: Marvel Studios’ The Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, The Deviants.
(source: Reddit)
