WWE star Damian Priest cast in Black Panther 2 before role got 'taken away'

Damian Priest was cast in 'Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever' before the role was "taken away".

The WWE superstar - whose real name is Luis Martínez - is a former World Heavyweight Champion and one of the company's most featured wrestlers, but he nearly made moves into Hollywood after landing a role in the Marvel blockbuster.

Speaking to the 'Insight with Chris Van Vliet' podcast, he said: "It's a long story, but basically... it got taken away from me, but not from Marvel."

At one point, Priest was linked to the role of Namor - which eventually went to Tenoch Huerta Mejía - but it's unclear if he was offered that part or another character.

And although the 41-year-old wrestler did not explicitly say who stopped him taking on the project, he agreed with the interviewer when it was hinted that, under previous WWE boss Vince McMahon, "the regime was a little bit different at that time".

Priest insisted he's "ready" if another Marvel role came up, before quickly pointing out his wrestling career has soared since missing out on the job.

He said: "It's funny, because now [I'm] busier than ever! Come what may, I'm good with it. Maybe [if] I do something like that, I go a different route, and I'm not sitting here with you as the world champ, having been a world champion.

"I won a world championship at WrestleMania - I don't know if that happens.

"Look, I live a certain way now that I can't look at regret, I can't think about stuff that didn't work out my way, I gotta think about what's next and what I can do positively for myself. It didn't work out. not the end of the world - the movie was great though!"