Aquaman comes out in December, and we’re finally starting to get some new details on the project. We’ll get a trailer on Saturday, but for now, we have a pretty cool new poster and synopsis to hold us over. The poster features the film’s lead, Jason Momoa, along with some of his Ocean friends:
The first poster for #Aquaman has arrived 🌊pic.twitter.com/3PGNppmCVJ
— DC Extended Universe (@TheDCEU) July 16, 2018
The official press release from Warner Bros. has revealed the synopsis – and a few other details:
From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an acition-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be… a king.
The film also stars Amber Heard (“Justice League,” “Magic Mike XXL”) as Mera, a firece warrior and Aquaman’s ally throughout his journey; Oscarnominee Willem Dafoe (“Platoon,” “Spider-Man 2”) as Vulko, council to the Atlantean throne; Patrick Wilson (“The Conjuring” films, “Watchmen”) as Orm/Ocean Master, the present King of Atlantis; Dolph Lundgren (“The Expendables” films) as Nereus, King of the Atlantean tribe Xebel; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (upcoming “Baywatch,” “Netflix’s The Get Down”) as the vengeful Black Manta; and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (“The Hours” “Lion”) as Arthrur’s mom, Atlanna; as well as Ludi Lin (“Power Rangers”) as Captain Murk, Atlantean Commando; and Temuera Morrison (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” “Green Lantern”) as Arthur’s dad, Tom Curry.
Wan directs from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (“The Conjuring 2”) and Will Beall (“Gangstar Squad,” TV’s “Training Day”), story by Geoff Johns & James Wan and Will Beal, based on characters from DC, Aquaman created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisnger. the film is produced by Peter Safran and Rob Cowan, with Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada serving as executive producers.
Wan’s team behind the scenes includes such frequent collaborators as Oscar-nominated director of photography Don Burgess (“The Conjuring 2,” “Forrest Gump”), his five-time editor Kirk Morri (“The Conjuring” films, “Furious 7,” the “Insidious” films), and production designer Bill Brzeski (“Furious 7”). They are joined by costume designer Kym Barrett (“The Matrix” trilogy, “The Amazing Spider-Man”) and composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (“Wonder Woman”).
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Safran Company Porduction, a James Wan Film, “Aquaman.” The film is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2018, in 3D and 2D and IMAX, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
As far as what to expect, Jason Momoa has said it’ll be a different movie than Justice League:
“When we originally signed on to play Aquaman, I knew a great deal of what Zack [Snyder] had built the character like. So, I built a lot of it off of using backstory. Little things like, parents were alive, parent’s weren’t alive? All that kind of stuff, we could shift when I got to James [Wan]. The bare bones of where he came from and what he was about, we’d already established from the very beginning and really what Zack was like, ‘This is what I want to bring to the team.’ So, coming over here it’s just like trying to balance and match that, but also James has a really, really different vision and it’s a very spectacular, different view of what, originally, when I was with Zack.”
Director James Wan said:
“I feel like the good thing about having something that isn’t really established is I get the opportunity to kind of set the world, set the tone, and set the flavor for who this guy is, and the world that he lives in. That’s what we love about superheroes, right? We love that they represent the best part of who we want to be, right? What we strive for, and what we aspire to be. And I think what I liked most about this character, and actually what Jason Momoa brings to it, is the idea that this is a guy who’s kind of trapped between two worlds. He doesn’t feel like he belonged in the surface world, but he doesn’t feel like he belongs in the world of Atlantis as well, the underwater world.”
Wan also said that most of the film takes place underwater:
“Two-thirds of this movie takes place underwater. It’s difficult, too, because it’s all supposedly under water, so people are swimming around. You would never have a room like this underwater. People float around, they swim… The geometry or the architecture is a three-dimensional space underwater, so doors are on the top, on the bottom. It’s like being in a space station, if you see any of those movies. People upside down. They don’t care. They’re underwater. So we have to deal with all that to tell the story and make it kind of fun.”
Aquaman hits theaters everywhere on December 21st.