‘Aquaman’: First Look at Black Manta

The first look at Black Manta, as he will appear in DC’s Aquaman film, has been revealed.

Though it is not the full costume, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II‘s character has been revealed in a photo which sees him checking out the impressive, straight-out-of-the-comics helmet. Rest assured, when the full costume is revealed, the quality will match the helmet revealed in the photo above.

Manta is not the main villain of Aquaman, though the seeds will be planted for a further and deeper feud with the titular hero played by Jason Momoa. “Black Manta is a really interesting character who is somehow factored into this story but our main story is about Jason and Patrick,” Aquaman director James Wan said.

The main villain of the film, however, is Orm the Ocean Master, portrayed by Patrick Wilson.

“[Aquaman] really was this outsider and lived on the fringes of society,” Momoa told ComicBook.com around the time of Justice League‘s release. “We talked about him just being raised with his father, this blue collar worker. His father was a lighthouse keeper, but I probably worked on oil rigs. I’d be underwater and I could just rip the rig off and just weld.”

The Aquaman character seen in Justice League is really just “a weekend in his life” according to Momoa, as the true evolution of the character is to be seen in the standalone film.

“And that was when I was alone,” Momoa said. “There’s people that I would save, that I could save, and there’s people that I couldn’t. The human side of me is that heartbreak of he couldn’t save someone. Not knowing what to with these powers, he was a drinker. He’d just down that emotion. He couldn’t ever get that out.

“You’re going to see that I really wanted him to be that gruff thing, because he has to become king. If Justice League is like seeing him at his lowest, and not just his lowest, but this loneliness that I wanted about him, so when we get to Aquaman you know why he became that, and how he had been put in that lonely spot.

“And how he has to bring these two worlds together. Because you’re going to see this ocean world, which we just pollute, and how do these people feel underwater with what the land does to the ocean. And this war that is going to come between the two, and I’m the only one that can link the two. He has to do it. He doesn’t want to do it.”

In regards to the tone of the Aquaman movie, Momoa described it as a combination of an origin, an epic battle, and a big road movie.

“In the story, we’re going to see a couple different younger versions of me. And even before I was born, so you’ll know where my mother came from, Atlantis. We’ve got to establish seven different kingdoms and the threat,” said Momoa.

“Surpassing Justice League, this moment in time is his call to become king. The only thing that can save Atlantis is me fighting my own brother. There’s a big battle, and there’s an epic [fight]. It’s also a big road movie, because we travel all over the world. It’s got that Star Wars quality of gigantic ships and guys riding sharks. It’s going to be this whole world you’ve never seen before. You’re going to see him start as this guy who probably rides bikes, works on cars. You get to see him this one way as kind of a dirty, dark, drunkard, and then turn into this regal king.”

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa and is directed by James Wan. Aquaman is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on December 21, 2018.

[H/T EW]