Aquaman’s Atlanteans will be riding on sharks and seahorses, so one can assume that director James Wan is embracing some of the magical, surrealistic world of the ocean.
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So far, imagery from the movie seems to suggest he is leaning into that world, which will help to create a unique cinematic experience that stands apart from its DC Universe stablemates, in much the same way Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy gave a cool, creative vision of outer space that reshaped the way Marvel Studios approached the wonders of the cosmos.
One big difference between the oceans and deep space? We absolutely, verifiably know some of the weird, cool stuff that happens under the sea.
Obviously, we aren’t saying “hey, let’s make this an oceanography documentary.” Rather, we’re hoping to see and/or see Aquaman interact with some of the amazing and strange creatures listed below…or even just to use them to build a sense of epic, alien scope in and around Atlantis.
Let us know if we missed one of your favorites in the comments below.
Angler Fish
This is one of those fish that is such a great visual, you can’t help but hope that they blow it up to be larger than life and turn it into something that can creep the heck out of audiences the first time it appears onscreen.
There are a lot of different varieties of angler fish, but again, we aren’t looking for 100% verisimilitude here as much as we are looking for the filmmakers to exploit some of the cool and naturally-occuring beasties of the sea. Visually this is so cool that we have seen riffs on it pop up in movies like Finding Nemo and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, so it seems like a no-brainer.
Narwhal
This feels like a go-to for people who want cool, strange aquatic life in their movies.
Since 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the narwhal has been a fixture in the popular imagination. While actual narwhal are not vicious, their tusks make them a cool visual, and one can imagine Atlanteans utilizing them for defense.
They also have natural abilities that are potentially pretty cinematic and/or creepy: they move through dark waters by creating rapid, clicking sounds and using the echoes to navigate.
Leafy Seadragon
You know how we’ve already seen seahorses blown up to larger than life? Well, imagine these odd-looking beings from the same family.
The Leafy Sea Dragon — phycodurus eques — looks so plant-like that it seems custom-made for a story where it can be utilized as an intel gatherer by Aquaman, communicating with it while it serves as a mobile bug that would be near impossible for an enemy to detect unless they knew just what they were looking for.
Megalodon
Who wouldn’t want to see both Aquaman and Batwoman (or at least Ruby Rose) star in movies with a gargantuan, ancient shark in the same summer?
This one, along with a couple of other extinct species we couldn’t help but include simply because they would be awesome to see in a big-budget movie, is probably a longshot since “reviving ancient carnivores” is likely a great idea to use on its own in the future.
Still, there is a fascination with the idea that a megalodon could exist in the Mariana Trench or some other well-hidden part of the ocean, and it is certainly the kind of thing that could be mentioned in passing and then paid off during a key action beat later in the film.
Blanket Octopus
File this one under things that just look weird enough that you want to see them represented somehow in a heightened reality.
While not nearly as creepy as some of the others, the blanket octopus could easily be given some kind of practical or military purpose utilizing its distinctive appearance as an advantage to the filmmakers, and it’s the kind of things that audiences might walk out of the movie, search on their phones, and be pleasantly surprised to find wasn’t made up for the film.
Pelican Eel
Along with the anglerfish, pelican eels are the kind of creatures just designed for undersea horror.
This thing is able to dislodge its jaw and create a giant, Predator-style maw taht can devour things twice its size.
And even before that, it was kind of creepy. So…yeah. Taking Wan’s approach to making the everyday horror of the ocean cool, this one seems like a no-brainer.
Giant Isopods
Creepy, bug-like crustaceans are kind of inherently creepy. While animated movies have leaned more toward humanizing them (see The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo), it’s easy for a live-action movie to make them unsettling, even if they are basically benign.
Imagine seeing one of these six-foot creatures coming at you, with no idea whether it’s a theat or not. That is the kind of thing that could play really well during the establishing sequences where Arthur first gets used to underwater civilization.
Looking at how a man-sized one could be terrifying? Just google “giant sea scorpion.” And try not to think about it too much.
Basilosaurus
Not actually a dinosaur but a marine mammal and precursor to the modern whale, its discoverer actually tried to get it renamed once he discovered the truth, but the new name didn’t stick.
Of the powerful, massive, ancient predators that would look good on film, this is one that is, relatively speaking, close to creatures we currently know on the evolutionary ladder and so could plausibly be “discovered” in the depths.
…Y’know. As far as comic book movie logic goes.
Ningen
These bad boys fall squarely into the category of folklore — but then, so does Atlantis and mer-people.
Basically, this could be a kind of pre-mermaid missing link or some other kind of monstrosity created en route to populating Atlantis.
Pale and featuring humanoid arms, ningen (Japanese for “human”) are a kind of cryptid quasi-merfolk, and some people still insist that they actually exist, with the kind of grainy, questionable footage offered up as proof that you see from Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot enthusiasts.
Predator X
The most powerful marine reptile ever discovered, this jurassic predator hasn’t been seen in millions of years, and so might be better served for a sequel…
…but c’mon. Tell us “Predator X” doesn’t sound like something out of a schlocky SYFY movie. Introducing it could be a joke before we see how destructive and horrifying the thing really is.
The very short version? This thing predates the T-rex (with four times the jaw power), but is basically undersea apex predator of its age, enormous, and the basis for plenty of monster stories that have been created in the years since its discovery.
