It’s about time Keanu Reeves joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to Kevin Feige, Marvel wants it to happen: “We talk to him for almost every film we make. We talk to Keanu Reeves about – I don’t know when, if, or ever, he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it.”

It’s also about time Namor the Sub-Mariner joined the MCU, since he was teased on a S.H.I.E.L.D. map in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and in a passing reference made by Okoye in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. As it turns out, the two might go hand in hand. Here are 10 Reasons Why Keanu Reeves Would Be The Perfect Casting For Namor.

Kevin Feige has been dying to cast him

Kevin Feige revealed recently that he meets with Keanu Reeves about playing a role in basically every single MCU movie. He’s dying to get Reeves on board – it’s just that they haven’t found a role that excites the actor enough yet. To be fair, Reeves is one of the biggest movie stars in the world right now, and DC has already nabbed Dwayne Johnson and Margot Robbie.

At this point, they’re just waiting for the right part to come along so that they can finally get Reeves into the franchise in the perfect role. Some fans would rather see him as Moon Knight or Adam Warlock, but it’s arguably the role of Namor that is best suited to the much-adored star of The Matrix trilogy.

Reeves could play Namor’s arrogance the same way he played his own

Keanu Reeves surprised audiences earlier this year with a cameo appearance as himself in the Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe. He played himself as a spiritual and earthly guy, as you’d expect, but also arrogant, cocky, and smug.

This is probably worlds apart from the real Keanu Reeves, but it’s the perfect characterization for Namor – the opposite of T’Challa’s humble nobility; a guy you love to hate – and Reeves nailed it. No one is expecting Keanu Reeves to play Namor as Keanu Reeves, but he has shown that he has the range to play the self-obsessed King of Atlantis.

His personality would help to differentiate the MCU’s Namor from the DCEU’s Aquaman

Namor is basically Marvel’s version of Aquaman – the underwater superhero whose powers are ocean-based and who rules over the kingdom of Atlantis – and DC’s own version of Aquaman (you know, Aquaman) has been very successful recently. Jason Momoa’s tough-as-nails, tattoo-covered, ass-kicking take on Arthur Curry catapulted him from laughing stock to globally beloved superhuman.

The MCU’s Namor would undoubtedly draw parallels with the DCEU’s Aquaman, especially since 2018’s James Wan-directed solo movie topped $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and the entirely unique personality and presence of Keanu Reeves would go a long way towards creating a tangible distinction.

Despite having been around for decades and starring in countless blockbusters, it seems that Keanu Reeves has become an overnight sensation in this year alone. He continued the saga of John Wick, made an appearance in Toy Story 4, played himself in Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe, and got gamers abuzz with his upcoming role in Cyberpunk 2077.

Keanu Reeves is on top of the world right now, making it the perfect time for him to finally make his MCU debut. If Marvel fears that audiences will get superhero fatigue following the satisfying payoff of Avengers: Endgame, then they can kick it up a notch by bringing in Keanu Reeves.

The MCU always casts bigger stars as the villains

It seems highly likely that when Namor is introduced into the MCU, it’ll be as a villain in the next Black Panther movie, given the two characters’ rivalry in the comics and Okoye’s suggestion that Atlantis is just off the coast of Wakanda (and some sort of battle there has caused an earthquake on the seabed) in Avengers: Endgame.

The casting modus operandi for the MCU of late has been to cast a lesser-known actor as the hero and a better-known star as the villain – e.g. Chadwick Boseman opposite Michael B. Jordan, or Tom Holland opposite Michael Keaton – so Keanu Reeves would fit the profile for the casting criteria for Namor.

Reeves loves a physically demanding role

A lot of actors, especially in the MCU, forgo doing their own stunts in favor of having a stunt double – or, even more heinously – a CGI double step in to do their action scenes. However, this severs the tie between the actor and their audience, and it can also take away the weight of each impact if it’s computer-generated.

This is exactly what Keanu Reeves has spent his career avoiding. He’s always been famous for doing his own stunts (although more so now, following the success of the John Wick movies) and he loves taking on physically demanding roles. In fact, one of the stunt coordinators who have worked with Reeves said that they’d worked with all the Avengers and Reeves was still their toughest and hardest-working client. Playing Namor would require a lot of swimming and underwater stunts, which Reeves would surely be up for.

He seemingly doesn’t age

Much like Paul Rudd or Will Smith, Keanu Reeves famously doesn’t age – at least not perceptibly. He looks basically the same now as he did 30 years ago. In the comics, Namor is not immortal, but he does have an extended lifespan, so an actor who would age visibly over a few years’ worth of MCU appearances wouldn’t do.

Actually, the agelessness of Keanu Reeves would also make him a strong contender to play an Eternal, but the cast of the Eternals movie has already been announced and Reeves’ name is nowhere to be seen, so Namor is the next best option.

He has Asian ancestry

Namor is technically the son of a white sea captain and a blue-skinned Atlantean, so his ethnicity in the Marvel universe has always been vaguely defined. However, in his most recent incarnations, he’s been drawn as Asian. Kevin Feige has said that the focus of the MCU moving forward is to diversify, and the ethnicity of who Marvel should cast as Namor been hotly debated among fans.

It’s been generally agreed upon that the actor should be of Asian descent, and with Chinese and Hawaiian heritage (which was actually a big factor in choosing him as the A-list cameo in Always Be My Maybe), Keanu Reeves would be an ideal candidate.

A great actor is needed for a character fans have been waiting for since 2010

MCU fans have been waiting for Namor to show up since way, way back in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Nick Fury showed Tony Stark a map filled with the locations of other superhumans. This map included Wakanda, a tease which has obviously already been paid off, and Atlantis, which fans are still waiting to see followed up.

You can’t just cast some guy to play a character that fans have been waiting almost a decade (and by the time he actually makes it to the screen, it’ll be over a decade) to meet. Marvel needs to cast someone truly legendary to make Namor’s introduction worth the wait, and who’s more legendary than the man behind Neo, John Wick, and Ted “Theodore” Logan?

He looks exactly like Namor

The internet is filled with side-by-side images of Keanu Reeves and Namor, because the two look exactly alike – the mesmerizing eyes, the commanding brow; they even have the same beard!

In addition to finding the right personalities, the MCU often casts actors based on their resemblance to the comics, like Chris Hemsworth as Thor or Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, both of whom could’ve been ripped from the pages of comic books in some sort of Purple Rose of Cairo-style magic. Keanu Reeves just looks like Namor – and with his spiritual presence, irresistible charms, and soothing voice, he’s the complete package.