DC fans were met with a pretty pleasant surprise on Sunday, when director James Wan and star Jason Momoa shared the first official look at Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The upcoming sequel, which began filming earlier this summer, will apparently feature two distinct costumes for Momoa’s Arthur Curry/Aquaman — his iconic orange-and-green hero costume from the first Aquaman, as well as an additional blue “stealth” suit. The first look at the stealth suit definitely surprised fans, both for its distinct color palette, and the roots it has in the pages of DC Comics. If you’re not familiar with the lore surrounding Aquaman’s blue stealth suit, here’s what you need to know.
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The blue suit first made its debut in 1986’s Aquaman miniseries, where it was designed by writer and DC production designer Neal Pozner. The suit’s distinctly-different aesthetic represented the new status quo of the series, which saw Aquaman and Mera living happily in Florida, only to be called to Atlantis to deal with a violent and mystical conflict. The suit allowed Arthur to more successfully camouflage himself in the water, an idea that proved to be useful over the course of the subsequent issues. While the miniseries was seen as controversial — particularly for the retcons it briefly made to Aquaman’s origin — the costume achieved cult status among fans, and even briefly returned last year in the digital series Aquaman: Deep Dives.
In his post unveiling the costumes, Wan specifically cited the ’80s blue suit as providing inspiration for the live-action costume, and also indicated that the camouflage aspect would be inspired by the real-life ability of cephalopods like squids and octopuses. With all of that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the suit’s camouflage abilities translate into live-action, and what other significance it could have on the overall plot. Given how much we still don’t know about the story of The Lost Kingdom, it feels like anything is possible.
“After we ended the first one I went in with my writing partner and we dreamed up the second one and we went in and pitched the idea,” Momoa previously said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “The best thing I can give you is that I love it so much that I participated in the writing of it. And so, we did the first treatment and then James and our original writer David finished it off. And all of our hearts are in it. Instead of just like getting a script and doing that, you are 100% being encouraged by your director and co-writers. So that’s exciting for me.”
What do you think of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s new stealth suit? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 16, 2022.
