'Aquaman': How Black Manta and Arthur Curry’s Feud Begins in the Movie

Today DC Films made its first big push to promote Aquaman before San Diego Comic-Con kicks off, releasing a slew of set visit reports, as well as the official poster and story synopsis for the film. Comicbook.com was lucky enough to be on set for Aquaman, and we were able to learn a lot of exciting new insights into director James Wan's solo film adaptation of the character.

One of the biggest points of interest in Aquaman has been the inclusion of Arthur Curry/Aquaman's longtime comic book nemesis, Black Manta. Manta will be played in the film by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Netflix's The Get Down), and while on set we got to learn how the film will explain the origin of the Aquaman/Black Manta feud!

According to Abdul-Mateen II, Black Manta (aka "David Kane") has a very personal grudge against Aquaman, as the actor explains:

"We meet Black Manta at a time where ... he's riding on high. He's just come off of his wind, and there's a changing of the guards, so to speak. And then, this guy, Aquaman, comes in, and crashes the party.... so, we meet him at a time when he's just, he's on top and then, bam, immediately, an event happens, and he's at the bottom... And then, from then on, you know, "It's Aquaman's fault!" He has very little else to live for, and so it becomes that revenge story."

There were some hints as to how the story plays out, with Abdul-Mateen II hinting that Manta's chance to strike at Aquaman will be the job that might fully bring the villain into his own:

"For Black Manta, it's not necessarily bad to be given an opportunity to obey, 'I just got this promotion, let me go prove myself, and step myself up and, you know, step it up once more.' So, in that confrontation, I'd like to think that Black Manta's very excited about, 'Okay, what it going to be like? This is that guy from around the way, who I've been hearing all these things about. And he's supposed to be a badass, and now is my time to go show him who the real badass is around these parts.'"

Upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019.