Black Manta actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will don a new costume in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom that takes cues from both the Silver Age of comics and the New 52.
Filmmaker James Wan shared photos of the costume on Instagram, writing, "Black Manta (played by the talented and badass [Abdul-Mateen]) and his ship/tech inspired by the aesthetic of the Silver Age (and New 52, thank you [Ivan Reis]) comics. Months and months of meticulous detailing were spent on costume and production designs."
The new headpiece replicates the iconic silver sheen from the comic books after the first movie took a more restrained, quasi-realistic black ops approach to the armor. This evolution in the character's appearance reflects star Jason Momoa's shift in costume from the colorful orange-and-green outfit of the 2018 film to the dark blue gear revealed in promotional photos for the upcoming installment. Like the revised Black Manta design, Arthur Curry's stealth suit appears to be inspired by the aesthetics of a specific run, namely the camouflage suit from the 1986 Aquaman limited series.
Wan previously teased a more complex story for the forthcoming superhero sequel, calling it an "electrifying journey." Despite this, Momoa confirmed an increased focus on humor, claiming, "This Aquaman, this time around, I feel like we're pulling out all of the stops, buddy. Like, it's... we all learned something on the first one. It's exciting because I haven't made too many sequels. There is so much going on. I think the stakes are a lot higher. There's a lot of comedy. So, I mean, I giggled reading it."
"I love it so much that I participated in the writing of it," Momoa said of the script in May. "And so we did the first treatment, and James [Wan] and our original writer David [Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick] finished it off. And all of our hearts are in it. Instead of just getting a script and doing that. You're 100% being encouraged by your director and co-writers so that's exciting for me. And I'm excited to go over there."
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives in theaters on Dec. 16, 2022.
Source: Instagram