Ever since it was announced that there would be an Aquaman movie, I had a lot of hope for it because Jason Momoa is an inspired choice for the role, and honestly, it would amazing for DC’s biggest under-appreciated, undersea hero to be its second critical and box office success in the DCEU, not to mention a production led and directed by men of color.
So when ComingSoon.net released their sit-down with James Wan, getting an extended look at the SDCC trailer and some special scenes, I was excited to get this peek at what’s going on. While nothing is a spoiler, it does give a lot of information about the movie. You’ve been warned.
One of the scenes gives insight into the relationship between Arthur Curry’s parents Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison). Atlanna was caught up in a storm and found by Curry. We even get a Shape of Water-style scene “when she tries to eat Thomas’ fish and he jokingly reacts by asking her to not eat his cat. The playful chemistry between her and Morrison is immediately endearing. It’s so pure.”
Romance seems to be at the forefront of Wan’s story, very much wanting the love between Atlanna/Thomas to parallel Arthur/Mera’s eventual love story: “I wanted a superhero very much shaped by the love that Mom and Dad had. And it’s also what kind of makes him a bit bitter, because what happened to them.” What happens to them you can probably guess. I mean, we’ve all seen The Little Mermaid. That bitterness has given Arthur quite a chip on his shoulder, but you know what, if your parents had an epic, tragic star-crossed romance would you have one too?
There is also apparently a really boss Nicole Kidman action sequence, which is honestly worth the price of admission alone. Speaking of battle sequences, they also saw some footage of Arthur fighting Orm/Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson).
The underwater effects are said to be quite polished, using practical techniques to create the fantastical aquatic environment, and Wan really did a lot of research into realizing what everything would look like in submerged conditions: “We would build costumes, sets, and our actors, we would literally submerge them underwater and we did so much study just to see what they would look like. The most surprising thing that we discovered very early on is people, objects, and stuff do not look wet underwater. It only looks wet when you take it out of water.”
They also got a look at Mera, who is very much “not a prize to be won,” even though she is apparently dressed like one. Both she and Arthur are working together to prevent Orm from waging a war against the human world. The conflict between Arthur and his half-brother is going to be one of the most entertaining parts of the film already, because as a middle child, glorious wars of sibling rivalry are fantastic.
All-in-all, it seems as though Wan is crafting his own action, romance, aquatic adventure using his own style to make Aquaman not just another DCEU movie, but a water opera with superheroes. Not only does it sound exciting, but I’m glad that Warner Bros. hired someone with that kind of vision to make this film. Still, until we see the final product there is no way to fully judge, but I’m excited to see what Aquaman brings to the table December 21!
(via ComingSoon.net, images: Warner Bros.)
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