Aquaman Movie Will Have 'Its Own Separate Vibe'

CBR

By Kevin Melrose

Published May 1, 2017

As cameras prepare to roll on Aquaman, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins praises the film as standing apart from the rest of the DCEU.

While fandom, to say nothing of the Warner Bros. marketing machine, is focused on the June 2 release of "Wonder Woman," director Patty Jenkins is already looking to the future of the DC Extended Universe, specifically "Justice League" and "Aquaman."

“I think there’s a lot of directors doing cool things,” she told the Toronto Sun. “I know the storylines for a lot of the films they are working on and they are all vastly different, with very different tones and very different styles of storytelling. ... Jason [Momoa] is off to shoot 'Aquaman' right now and that’s such a cool story. It’s got its own separate vibe. I’m excited to see each of these films.”

When Jenkins says "right now," she apparently means right now, as Australia's Gold Coast Bulletin reports cameras are expected to roll this week on "Aquaman" at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, most recently used for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Thor: Ragnarok."

As for the film's vibe, director James Wan has characterized "Aquaman" as "a classic sort of swashbuckling action adventure, sort of high seas adventure story." “It’s ultimately a quest story in the spirit of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ meets ‘Romancing the Stone,'" he said. Screenwriter Will Beal ("Gangster Squad") later reinforced that tone, calling the film "really fun." "I think 'Aquaman' is one that’s going to blow people’s minds," he said in January, "not just visually, but I think the story and the scope of it is really great."

Although few concrete details are known about the film, Momoa recently revealed that "Aquaman" will find the DC Comics hero coming to terms with both his abilities and his place in the world. “The guy was never really accepted on land, and he was never really accepted in Atlantis,” he said. “He’s a half-breed. But he’s the best of both worlds. He just doesn’t know how to handle his powers. So it’s kind of a coming of age for a young man to a man, or a man to a king. He’s lost a lot of things and he’s got to cope. He’s an outsider.”

Opening Dec. 21, 2018, “Aquaman” stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, and and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta