Aquaman could very well be a game changer for the DC Extended Universe, especially as it looks set to be the first of a wave of very different superhero movies for Warner Bros. after the mixed response to the likes of Suicide Squad and Justice League. With the first trailer right around the corner (it's been confirmed to debut online this Saturday), set visit reports have finally surfaced from the depths.
It goes without saying that there are a lot of huge new details here, many of which take us into spoiler territory. We have fresh (water) intel on the villains, the story, and how the characters will be handled.
Based on this, it definitely sounds as if director James Wan is going to deliver the Aquaman movie we've all been waiting for and it definitely has the potential to be something very special indeed. So, to check out all of these new details about the DC Comics adaptation, click on the "View List" button.
What Orm Wants
While we know that Aquaman's brother Orm will be an antagonist in the movie, his plan has been something of a mystery. Well, until now that is. While Black Manta is very much a secondary villain, it's Orm who will be receiving the majority of the spotlight and it's said that he hates people on land and decides to break the peace treaty with humans because of the way they've treated the oceans.
He doesn't want to rule the world but he does want to "Unite the Seven" in order to become the "Ocean Master." Ultimately, he's just fed up with surface dwellers mining the planet for fossil fuels, dumping waste in the ocean, and generally just not taking care of the planet the way they should.
It Takes Place After Justice League
As expected, Aquaman takes place after the events of Justice League and is being treated as a standalone movie. The plan from day one was to be extremely faithful to the source material and almost everyone on set reportedly talked about how the DC Comics adaptation is "less dark" than previous adaptations. Oh, and in case you weren't sold on this being a unique superhero movie, around two-thirds is going to be set underwater! Not even Marvel has managed to achieve that epic feat.
We're Not Getting An Aquaman/Mera Love Story
Making the romance between Arthur Curry and Mera the focal point of Aquaman would be an easy route to head down but it doesn't sound like we're getting your typical love story. Instead, James Wan is more interested in telling what producer Peter Safran describes as a "swashbuckling, fun, quest."
"[The] relationship is a little bit Michael Douglas-Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone, which is ultimately a romantic action movie," he continues. "But, I wouldn’t say it’s actually a romance." However, reporters who visited the set have claimed that the second act plays out like a romcom...
There Are Story Reasons For The Costumes
Many superhero movies shy away from comic accurate costumes because there's no convincing way to portray them on screen but Aquaman has found a good balance between that and explaining why these characters wear what they wear. According to Wan, Black Manta's suit looks that way for a good reason and we'll even end up learning why the villain has two glowing red eyes in his helmet!
As for King Orm, that's simply his military outfit and something he'll wear as he looks to become Ocean Master. We'll have some more interesting details on Aquaman's suit for you a little later on in this list.
Portraying Aquaman's Powers
According to Wan, it was important for him for Aquaman to not just be an underwater Superman. Story-wise, there is actually a good reason why Arthur Curry is so powerful and that's because the bodies of Atlanteans are built to withstand the pressure of living so deep beneath the ocean. As a result, when they come to the surface, they're obviously all a lot stronger than us.
However, Aquaman definitely isn't a Kryptonian! While bullets bounce off the Man of Steel, "bullets can maybe break their skin and break their flesh, but it doesn’t necessarily penetrate ’cause their muscle mass and their body mass is much more dense." He went on to say while "surface war weapons may have a hard time taking him down, Atlantian technology can cripple him for sure."
James Wan Had A Say In Justice League
Apparently, there's a very good reason why we never paid a visit to Atlantis in Justice League. Wan says he was asked by those working on the movie just how much he wanted to reveal in Arthur Curry's solo outing, hence why the underwater nation was kept under wraps. Even during reshoots, it's said that team spoke to him to ensure that everyone was on the same page (however, he presumably didn't give the green light to that cringe-worthy Aquaman/Mera scene in the air bubble based on past remarks).
There Will Be Plenty Of Easter Eggs
We don't know they will be or when they'll show up but it's said that Aquaman will be crammed full of Easter Eggs to both the wider DC Universe and Arthur Curry's comic book adventures. Start placing your bets now for what these might be as there are going to be a lot for Wan to choose from.
The Trench
We received confirmation last month that the Trench will be part of Aquaman and now more details about their role in this movie have been revealed. They don't have eyes and live in the Marianas Trench around 8000 feet underwater. They only come out at night and there will be a scene where they attack a boat because they want to eat and kill the people aboard (so, it will be just like the comics then).
It's said that there are literally thousands of them that come out of the water to attack but they won't be the only underwater characters we meet in Aquaman. We'll also be introduced to the Brine (four-legged crustaceans that live on the bottom of the sea) and the Fishermen, pacifists who love nature. However, only the Atlanteans and the Xebellians can breathe air and are able to visit the surface.
Mera Is Not A Damsel In Distress
Don't expect Aquaman to rescue Mera; she rescues him at one point in the movie! Asked what she loves about the character, the actress explains that it was the comic book version of the hero who sold her on the fact that she's not your typical female supporting hero and that she'll have plenty to do:
"I was doing my research and was reading the graphic novels, and in one of the first ones I read, there’s a scene, some natural disaster in open water, a tsunami hits on the land, and of course Aquaman comes in and saves the day and civilians are like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Aquaman!’ And they turn to Mera, who has done equal work in saving this village, and they’re like, ‘Who are you? Are you Aquawoman?’ And she’s like, ‘No, I’m not Aquawoman. I’m Mera, I have my own name.’ And I was like, I like this. I like this woman. I respect it as a character, I respect it as a person. I also respect it as the average modern woman, who is sick and tired of seeing the same old, two-dimensional, reactionary, passive roles that are limited to being rescued or enchanting the male protagonist. I feel I have a lot more to offer in life and I’m bored with those characters when I watch them."
What Black Manta Wants
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Black Manta in Aquaman and explains that the villain isn't out to take over the world. Instead, he just wants revenge against Arthur Curry, something which will make perfect sense to you if you're at all familiar with his comic book (mis)adventures. He will stop at nothing to get that and as a secondary bad guy, he's only going to have a "small, but key role" in the DC Comics film.
He'll make it to the end credits alive, though, because his role in Aquaman's world will be expanded if they get to make a sequel. Interestingly, it's noted that Black Manta will end up wearing two suits.
Aquaman And Mera's Lessons
It's said that both Aquaman and Mera learn a lot over the course of this movie, particularly in regards to the way they perceive each other's worlds. Arthur will realise that he shouldn't blame all of Atlantis for the fact his mother died, while Mera will realise that the surface is actually worth preserving and that the Atlanteans need to find a way to coexist with humans despite their many differences.
On another interesting note, it's been revealed that Atlantis actually fell into the ocean around five thousand years ago and that it then morphed into seven different kingdoms. Six of those have been revealed and they will be the Trench, Brine, Xeellian, Fisherman, Atlanteans, and a missing kingdom.
How Aquaman Begins
When the movie kicks off, Arthur Curry is still very much a loner despite teaming up with the Justice League to save the world. However, as he goes on a journey with Mera (they're reportedly on a question to find "something very important"), that changes and he finally stops pushing people away.
Aquaman is also going to feature flashbacks to explain more about how the hero became the way he is, how his parents met, and why the Atlanteans wouldn't let his mother remain on land years earlier.
James Wan Wants To Make A Superhero Movie Unlike Any Other
After the success of The Conjuring and his Fast & Furious movie, Wan was offered the opportunity to take the helm of any DC Comics adaptation he wanted. However, he was only interested if he could make it the way he wanted and the filmmaker stressed that it needed to be a departure from what DC had done before. He actually sees Aquaman as Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Romancing the Stone.
Aquaman Is Getting His Comic Book Accurate Costume
This should definitely be considered a spoiler but various outlets are reporting that by the time the movie ends, Arthur Curry will be the Aquaman we all know from the comic books and he will "probably" be wearing the classic orange and green costume from the comic books. That obviously sets the stage for the character to go to some very interesting places in future instalments of this franchise.
The New 52 Heavily Influenced The Movie
According to producer Peter Safran, Geoff Johns' "New 52" run on Aquaman did indeed heavily influence the film. "The new 52 version of Aquaman was definitely our touchstone and our starting point. And even though the film is not a direct adaptation of that, that was certainly the…in terms of his origin, who he is, that Tom Curry is his father and Atlanna is his mother, who Orm is, etc. That all comes from the new 52. And, there are certainly creature elements from it, like the Trench."
There Will Be A Horror Element
In news which is bound to be welcomed by fans of Wan's work, the filmmaker is indeed going to be given the opportunity to relive his horror roots in Aquaman. According to Safan, the Trench scene "Is his homage to Creature From The Black Lagoon type scary movies and that whole sequence is classic James Wan from the way characters are revealed. The way the creatures are revealed. To the actual action that goes into that entire sequence. And that’ll be a signature James Wan scary sequence."
As for what Wan thinks about that, he added: "I want to capture the fear that we have of the ocean, the scariness, but at the same time, the magical and wonder that comes with it as well. The ocean’s such a beautiful place and so just naturally built into my story for this film." Sounds great, right?
Mera's Powers
Just like her comic book counterpart, Mera is going to have the power of hydrokinesis which means that she's able to control water and use it as a weapon. It's said that those abilities will come in handy at a "many" points throughout Aquaman, something which really wasn't the case in Justice League. Her father is also the Xebellian king, another story element borrowed from "The New 52" comic books.
Black Manta And Orm Are Connected
When we first meet Black Manta at the start of the film, he and his father are pirates. Interestingly, it's said that he's connected with Orm in a way which helps make the secondary villain a "more integral" part of the story. "We do show how Manta that we see in the comic books," explains Safran, "became that character." There are many stories he could be referencing here so this is definitely intriguing.
The Action Will Be Epic
It goes without saying that Aquaman will feature a lot of big action sequences and one reportedly takes place in Italy where Aquaman, Mera, and Black Manta all get to show off their respective strengths. We're also going to see a gladiator fight in the movie in a coliseum featuring thousands of Atlanteans watching a traditional battle that goes back to ancient Atlantis. Who will be competing, though?
The Scale Of Atlantis
Atlantis remains a mystery to us but we do now know that the underwater city is bigger than Los Angeles and could have has many as fifty million people living across its seven kingdoms. They all have their own technology and have worked hard to not be discovered but that's going to change in this movie. Whether or not that means their existence will become public knowledge isn't clear.
Will We See Other DCEU Characters?
While Aquaman is described as being a standalone adventure, it's said that while the movie was in production, there was a lot of talk about whether or not other characters from the DCEU will appear. Unfortunately, these set reports don't shed any light on that and so it's going to be very interesting seeing whether or not Arthur Curry winds up crossing paths with his fellow Justice League members.
What do you guys think about these new Aquaman details? Are you more excited to see the movie after reading these? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section.