Doctor Strange 2: Possible Reason For The Gargantos/Shuma-Gorath Controversy

One of the controversies among fans of the comics relating to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the fact that we are going to see a creature that is practically identical to Shuma-Gorath but shows up under the name of Gargantos. As Marvel fans already know, Gargantos is another creature from the comics with significant differences in both appearance and relationships with other characters.

Image source: Marvel Comics

According to reliable sources, the reason for this confusing change could be trouble with the cinematographic rights of the character.
Shuma-Gorath is a name taken from Robert E. Howard's short story The Curse of the Golden Skull featuring Kull the Conqueror, published in 1967. Shuma-Gorath made his Marvel Comics debut six years later as the villain of Marvel Premiere #10 (Doctor Strange). And in case you haven't known yet, Howard was responsible for writing numerous stories of Conan the Barbarian, a character from whom Marvel regained the comic book licensing rights in 2018.

Image source: Marvel Comics

In September 2020, Netflix acquired the rights to do live-action and animation projects for Conan, and it is currently developing a live-action series focusing on this famous barbarian. To make matters more complicated, Universal Pictures also released a movie centering on this character titled Kull the Conqueror in 1997. Given that that Shuma-Gorath was first introduced in a Kull story, the rights to that character could remain in Universal's hands.
Continuing with the complications, Norwegian video game company Funcom acquired the rights to Conan the Barbarian in September 2021. Therefore, Marvel Studios opting to use the name Gargantos instead of Shuma-Gorath makes sense from the legal point of view.
However, this whole affair actually sheds some light on another. It's no secret that Gargantos is directly associated with Namor aka the Sub-Mariner, and since this character is being heavily rumored to appear in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this could be a clear clue that the rights to this antihero may have definitely returned to Marvel.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on May 6, 2022.