To the disappointment of some fans, Avengers: Endgame is the first Marvel Studios film not to feature a post-credits scene, ensuring that the studio’s plans for Phase 4 remain shrouded in mystery. That being said, there are still quite a few projects that we know to be on the way, including Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2. And in one of the Avengers: Infinity War sequel’s earliest scenes, some viewers are speculating that the seeds may have been sown for the the arrival of a major comic book character.
Be warned that Endgame spoilers lie ahead.
The sequence in question is one of the first after the film’s five-year time jump, where Black Widow is speaking to various heroes via hologram. Okoye in particular reports of seismic activity in the ocean on the African plate. Hearing this news, Natasha Romanoff asks how the Black Panther star plans to handle the situation, to which she responds:
“It’s an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it.”
Though it’s possible that the moment was only intended to reflect Natasha’s need to act the hero after failing to save the universe from the snap, Marvel Studios News makes the case that this seismic activity near Africa might actually foreshadow the emergence of Namor and the Atlanteans.
Indeed, it’s been rumored for a while now that Marvel might be preparing to introduce Namor in Phase 4. What’s more, the Sub-Mariner and Black Panther have been known to clash in the comics, and now that Wakanda has opened itself up to the wider world, we may find that the country has become more exposed to threats from other nations.
Of course, this is all just speculation for the time being, but as Avengers: Endgame continues its run in theaters, you can expect the fans to pick up on plenty more details that might offer a clearer picture of the franchise’s future.