Before swimming back into the big screen in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Arthur Curry and Mera will make their presence felt on television with HBO Max's Aquaman: King of Atlantis.
The animated series — executive-produced by Aquaman director James Wan — focuses on Arthur's journey toward becoming ruler of his underwater kingdom after defeating the former King of Atlantis, Ocean Master. The mini-series will be split into three chapters, the first of which will premiere on October 14, 2021.
In September, HBO Max and Warner Bros. released the first trailer for King of Atlantis, giving us a glimpse at Arthur and Mera's fun adventures. Now, with its release date fast approaching, the first four minutes of the show's first chapter have been released:
When it was unveiled, the series was met with some criticism due to its distinctive animation style. As this preview shows, however, its visuals meshe perfectly with its off-the-wall humor and whimsical tone. Speaking with IGN, show producer Marly Halpern-Graser explained how they used Aquaman's "silly" reputation to their advantage:
"Because you can't ignore that aspect of Aquaman's history, we tried to take the cooler, more grounded Aquaman that is becoming the way people think of him and just put him in a sort of goofy [and] cartoony world and have him bristle at that a little bit [...] Because he's sort of a serious guy, and he doesn't totally love how silly the world around him is. And he's a little bit the audience's point of view."
An important thing to note is that, even though the series takes inspiration from 2018's Aquaman (both in terms of character designs and story), King of Atlantis does not take place in the DCEU.
The first episode of Aquaman: King of Atlantis, titled "Chapter One: Dead Sea," will be released on HBO Max on October 14, 2021. It will be followed by "Chapter Two: Primordeus (October 21) and "Chapter Three: Tidal Shift" (October 28). Each chapter is expected to be 45 minutes long.
Take a look at the mini-series' synopsis to get a better idea of what to expect from it:
"The three-part animated mini-series event begins with Aquaman’s first day on the job as king of Atlantis and he’s got a LOT of catching up to do. Luckily, he has his two royal advisors to back him up – Vulko, the scholar, and Mera, the water-controlling warrior-princess. Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman is going to have to rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects, and to himself, that he’s the right man for the trident!
Based on the DC characters, 'Aquaman: King of Atlantis' is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and executive produced by James Wan ('Aquaman' and the upcoming 'Malignant'), Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear ('Annabelle Comes Home') and Rob Hackett ('Swamp Thing'), and Sam Register ('Teen Titans Go!'). Victor Courtright ('ThunderCats Roar!') and Marly Halpern-Graser ('Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles') serve as showrunners and co-executive producers."