Let’s be honest: Aquaman has been a long-running joke of the DC Universe. A Superman-esque character who can breath underwater and talk to fish is more of a comedy show punchline rather than the basis for an exciting and epic comic book – let alone a blockbuster movie. Yet, director James Wan (The Conjuring, Furious 7) is about to be hard at work shooting Aquaman – and as such, new details about the film (like who the villain will be) are now leaking out.
Videos by ComicBook.com
As we get a better idea of what to expect from Aquaman, we also have hope that we’ll get the best Aquaman movie that we can. To that end: here are 5 Things We Want to See in Aquaman.
A Tale of Two Worlds
One thing these DCEU movies need to start doing is nailing down the core essences of their major characters. The accuracy and integrity of representing characters’ natures onscreen has been the major deciding factor that has kept characters like Henry Cavill’s Superman and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor on the bad side of fan opinion, while characters like Ben Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman have overcome initial skepticism surrounding their casting.
Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman has already stoked ire for being very different from his comic book counterpart (the darker hair, skin and Polynesian tattoos are certainly a departure) – so the character’s core essence needs to kept in tact, and made a central focus of the film.
For Aquaman, the real heart of the story is of a man divided betwden two worlds, and two parents: a surface-dwelling father and Atlantean mother. Many DC superheroes come with built-in mommy/daddy issues, but few offer a background like Aquaman’s, and all its parallels to real-life children of divorce, mixed ethnicity, mixed nationality, etc. The Aquaman movie needs to capitalize on that unexplored terrain – quite literally, when it comes to the deep-sea world of Atlantis.
Terrors of the Deep
Any grade school science student knows that planet Earth is mostly covered in water – and that we have yet to fully plumb the depths of those oceans. One of the main reasons for getting an Aquaman movie into theaters is to offer DC and Warner Bros. the chance to explore a world that Marvel has not yet ventured into: the mysteries of the deep.
An Aquaman movie could rest on its laurels by giving us scenes of fish, sharks and other commonplace aquatic life at Aquaman’s command – but since this is a comic book superhero movie, there’s definite room to get a little more imaginative. James Wan has made his name with horror movie scares (The Conjuring, Insidious), so making the world of the deep sea into something novel and captivating – yet appropriately frightening – is definitely within his wheelhouse.
The Nefarious Black Manta
Aquaman isn’t widely known to the mainstream public – so it’s no surprise that his lineup of villains and foes aren’t that well known, either. However, since the 2000s Aquaman has had a major overhaul in DC Comics, and part of the overhaul has been making his Rogues Gallery a bit more memorable. That’s why recent news that Aquaman’s longtime nemesis Black Manta is likely the villain in the movie is just as welcome.
Manta has undergone a lot of revision over the years, but the modern incarnation involves him and Aquaman having a tragic childhood meeting, where Aquaman killed his father. Manta vows to kill everyone Aquaman loves, and commits some pretty dastardly acts to fulfill that promise – landing him places like Belle Reve prison, under the eye of Amanda Waller.
What makes him a great villain is his cunning and strategy; the fact that he’s also one of the best black villain characters in comic books will add a nice bit of diversity to the cast.
Aquatic Super Battles
One of the main purposes of getting this Aquaman movie in theaters before Marvel can do something like a Namor movie is to be the first to offer moviegoers a taste of intense undersea action – something that is going to probably be the next big wave (pun), once James Cameron’s Avatarsequels hit theaters in 2018 and revolutionize underwater visual F/X
Aquaman is essentially the Superman of the sea, and so we want his movie to deliver the type of deep sea superhero action that will wow people so much that they have to go out and tell a friend about it. In fact, Aquamanbetter feature at least one sequence where our hero summons an awe-inspiring army of aquatic creatures to his side. It’s time to put those “talks to fish” jokes to rest.
Smart DCEU Connections
The creators of the DC Extended Universe have found a good way to bring fantastical characters like The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Cyborg into a world occupied by normal humans like Batman. More impressively, they’ve found ways to connect all those individual pieces into one shared mythology, involving three ancient races – humans, Amazons and Atlanteans – who defeated the alien threat we will see return in Justice League.
In this mythology, Atlantis and its people play a pivotal role, and we’d like to see that fully explored in Aquaman. From ancient secrets of the sea to magic to alien technology (like the Mother Box) – Atlantis is connected to it all, and should be woven into the larger DCEU accordingly during the course of the film.
If James Wan and Zack Snyder want to have some real fun, maybe we see some DCEU retcon Easter eggs, like that longtime fan theory that it was Aquaman who pulled Superman from that oil rig wreckage during Man of Steel.
Honorable Mention: Aqualad
There will be a lot to cover in Aquaman – an origin story summary, a villain’s story, the world-building of Atlantis and introducing all those characters; however, DC Comics (particularly DC Animation) fans would like to see one person in particular appear in the film: Aqualad.
The character has had several incarnations, with different men holding the title. Garth was the original Aqualad in the comics, but many fans swear by Kaldur’ahm, the version of the character from the underrated Young Justice animated series, who happens to be Black Manta’s son. In the comics, a character that resembles Kaldur’ahm (named Jackson Hyde) has since been introduced; but personally, I’m team Kaldur’ahm all the way.
Suicide Squad is now in theaters; Wonder Woman is coming on June 2, 2017; followed by Justice League on November 17, 2017; The Flash on March 16, 2018; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020.
Have you seen Suicide Squad yet? Want to win a Hot Toys Joker figure from the movie? All you have to do head on over to ComicBook.com’s Movie Database or click the image above and rate the movie to enter! A winner will be chosen August 19th, 2016!
