WWE Star Was Asked To Read For Huge MCU Role

This WWE name was offered the chance to audition for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

by Andrew Pollard
Namor Sub-Mariner Damian Priest
Marvel Comics/WWE

WWE star Damian Priest was offered the chance to read for a role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

With that film currently in cinemas, Fightful Select reports that Priest was approached to read for a role which sources close to the situation believe to be Namor. For anyone not familiar with the world of Marvel Comics, Namor is a huge player within that world.

Other than his wrestling work, the real-life Luis Martinez doesn't have any formal acting credits to his name, so clearly someone at Marvel Studios must've been impressed by what they've seen from the Judgment Day man during his time with WWE. It's not actually known whether Priest did actually audition for this MCU role or not, although clearly he didn't end up in Wakanda Forever.

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If Priest did end up in this year's Black Panther sequel, he'd join three big-name wrestlers in having significant roles in superhero movies; Dave Bautista having won plentiful praise for his role as the Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax, John Cena having got his own Peacemaker TV series after playing the character in The Suicide Squad, and a certain Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson appearing as Black Adam in cinemas right now.

As for Namor, the Sub-Mariner is one of the most long-standing characters in Marvel Comics.

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Created by Bill Everett, Namor debuted back in 1939's Marvel Comics #1. What makes the King of Atlantis particularly fascinating, is that he's often spent just as much time being a villain as he has a hero. While he's been as part of teams such as the Avengers, the Illuminati, and the Fantastic Four, Namor has likewise battled those same heroes at several points over his storied history. In terms of abilities, the Avenging Son shares a lot of similarities with DC Comics' Aquaman. For those who like to lazily label Namor merely an Aquaman rip-off, though, the Marvel character actually debuted a solid two years before his DC counterpart.

Where Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is concerned, there the Sub-Mariner was played by Narcos: Mexico's Tenoch Huerta.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.