The first footage from Aquaman was shown off at CinemCon earlier this week and now director James Wan is spilling the beans on what fans should expect from the DC Comics adaptation. Confirming that we're getting a "Shakespearean" story of sibling rivalry, the filmmaker has explained that the story will revolve around Arthur Curry's battle with his brother Orm, a.k.a. the villainous Ocean Master.
"The main antagonist in this movie is Orm, played by Patrick Wilson," Wan confirmed in a recent interview. "And Black Manta, played by Yahya [Abdul-Mateen], is caught up in that world with them as well. But the main drive really is, it’s almost a very classic Shakespearean story about brother from another world vs. brother from another world. And it really is a classic story of sibling rivalry."
The footage shown at the event revealed Aquaman challenging Orm for Atlantis' throne and that the villain will bring war to the surface. However, what sets this movie apart from other superhero stories?
"We’re used to superhero movies where the threat is from another dimension or aliens from another universe coming here and trying to destroy our Earth. But we haven’t seen one where the main threat is from a massive, massive civilization that is right under our nose, in the ocean.… The idea that there could be a massive civilization living right underneath [us] that we don’t know about is kind of scary and exciting." It's a fair point and one which definitely makes Aquaman unique.
Whether or not it will live up to expectations remains to be seen but the signs are currently pointing to the first trailer debuting at Comic-Con in July, so it looks like we'll have a better idea soon enough...