Two breakout characters from James Wan's film, Aquaman, were the villains Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson) and Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Through these iconic enemies, Aquaman was able to face equally physical and intellectual threats on his journey to claim his birthright as king.
Recently, it was released that Black Manta was set to have his own film disguised as the canceled project, The Trench, which would focus on the creatures found in Aquaman. While seeing Manta in a feature-length film would've been a sight to behold, Arthur's brother Orm would have been an even better choice as the focus of his own movie.
In the film, Aquaman has a troubled history with the man who would become Black Manta. Blaming Arthur for his father's death, David Kane, with the help of King Orm, develops technology to take on Aquaman and becomes the deadly mercenary Black Manta. The film ends with him upgrading his gear and planning another revenge scheme against the newly crowned king. While details on his canceled spin-off haven't been revealed, it's likely the film would have seen Manta go on an adventure all his own that could potentially help in his plans to kill Aquaman.
On the other hand, Aquaman saw Orm claim the title of king and orchestrate a false attack from the surface world. Dubbing himself the Ocean Master, he planned to get all of the kingdoms of Atlantis to lead a charge against the surface world and retake the planet. While he failed in the end, Arthur spared his life and had him incarcerated. That being said, he still offered Orm an opportunity to speak with his half-brother, even after all of the things he'd done. The time he'd spend locked up could be crucial for the character's development and should've been explored in his own film.
Orm's time in lock-up hasn't been explored yet. If a solo film were to pick up where he left off, the film could be intercut with flashbacks to his time as a prince. This could include moments spent with his mother and training to become king. The story could frame him as someone placed on a pedestal of importance and promised a throne that was never his. Similarly, these scenes would mirror a character like Loki, who was also promised a great many things he was never meant to have.
As audiences learn of Orm's past, the movie could set viewers up to think that he has realized he wasn't at fault for how he was raised or the hatred for Arthur he nurtured, thus thinking he deserves some form of redemption. Instead, his feelings towards Arthur could grow further, leading to a breakout where he sets up a new plan to be executed in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The film's events could serve as a character piece and set up the sequel, but the film's true impact would lie in how Orm is fleshed out and how a character with a chance to redeem himself would rather throw it away out of pride.
A Black Manta film would have been great to flesh out the undersea universe of Aquaman. However, as a character piece, the character's development and exploration into villainy are primarily explored in Aquaman. On the other hand, Orm offers a whole layer for the character that hasn't been explored.
Plus, depending on his decisions, he could be another redeemable villain with his own story that should be told or an even more vile enemy that Aquaman never gives up on no matter his actions. Ocean Master is a deadly and tragic villain, and a film exploring his past, present and future would've been a much better choice to adapt.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to arrive in theaters Dec. 16, 2022.