Tenoch Huerta, who plays Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, says that despite the chemistry he shares with Letitia Wright's Shuri, the dynamic between the characters was never intended to be romantic.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Huerta was told that viewers feel like there was romantic chemistry between Namor and Shuri when she visits his underwater city of Talokan. When asked if he played a romantic angle between the characters deliberately, the actor felt their connection was more human rather than romantic. "I don't feel it was a romantic touch [between them]. I think it was more a human, intimate touch," Huerta said. "I mean in the history of their kingdoms, the history of their people, they share the same root, and the threat comes from the same place for both of them, for the same reason. They both face threats from Western countries like the United States and France in the story, because of vibranium, natural resources. I think they connect in that aspect."

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Following the release of the film, fans began "shipping" Shuri and Namor on social media, despite the two characters being on opposite sides of war. Shuri is the Princess of Wakanda, while Namor is the King of his underwater nation. Despite the conflicts between their respective kingdoms, there is one moment when they appear to bond as Namor tries to convince her to allow their nations to be allies against the rest of the world.

'It Was Magical, But Not Necessarily Romantic'

The characters find themselves at odds when vibranium, a precious metal that was believed to only be found in Wakanda, is discovered in Talokan. Once Namor discovers that a tech-savvy college student named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) has built a device that can detect the vibranium and could reveal his people's presence to the world, it's his intention to track her down and kill her. Shuri and the people of Wakanda intend on protecting Riri, but when Namor captures them both, he suggests to Shuri that outside forces will do whatever it takes to have access to their vibranium, and they would be better off working together to prevent that from happening. That being said, if Shuri and the people of Wakanda don't agree to an alliance, he's willing to destroy their nation.

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For Huerta, the relationship was always meant to be more ambiguous, and their connection didn't need to be romantic to convey something deeper. "The beautiful part of this relationship is, it doesn’t need to be romantic to be deep," the actor said. "It doesn't need to be romantic to be beautiful and bright and intimate. And this connection between a man and a woman in different levels doesn't need, necessarily, to end in a romantic relationship. And that's beautiful, you know? Because I hate the romantic love. I think it’s poison," he laughed. "These characters, they create something… I don't know. It was magical, but not necessarily romantic."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.

Source: Rolling Stone