Monday, October 27, 2014

Exploring The DC Cinematic Universe: Aquaman

Aquaman
Release Date: July 17th, 2018


Who is Aquaman?: Arthur Curry was born on the surface world and later became King of Atlantis. Half-human and half-Atlantean, he struggles to choose between his two homelands. His powers are often misunderstood by the general public making them think of him as a joke, but in reality Arthur is anything but. 

Director: Matt Reeves (Dawn Of the Planet of the Apes)

Why?: Atlantis needs to be fully realized. It should be beautiful. In his last film, Matt Reeves created a beautiful world for his ape characters to live in. I think he can do the same for the Atlanteans. He has extensive work with special effects and knows how to tell a good story while maintaining character development. I mean his lead character in Dawn was an ape (Ceasar) who only spoke a few words at a time, but you entirely sympathize and understood Ceasar's character because of the way Reeves told the story. He is a craftsman and DC should have him onboard for at least one of their films.

Proposed Story: Arthur Curry must choose between living on the surface world or return to Atlantis and rule as their king. He is greatly distressed by the harsh treatment given to the oceans during his time as ruler of Atlantis (World Engine in Indian Ocean?), and he deciding whether to give up the Atlantean throne or return to full-time heroics. However, he now struggles with his lack of reputation with the greater public on land, which views him as a lesser superhero with less impressive powers than those of his peers like Superman. Meanwhile Aquaman's arch nemesis Black Manta breaks open a deep trench on the ocean floor releasing a horde of fish monsters called "The Trench". Aquaman must stop "The Trench" from destroying the surface world before he loses his birth home. All while Manta and his crew infiltrate Atlantis in hopes to destroy the other home of his hated enemy.

Inspired By: Once again a Geoff Johns storyline should inspire another DCCU film. This time John's The Trench written back in 2011 is the main influence on the overall story and treatment of the main characters.

Lead Characters (Cast): 

1. Aquaman/ Arthur Curry (Jason Mamoa)

Why?: Arthur should be a man torn between two worlds. Now with the casting of Jason Mamoa, I'm scared that his personality will be "Conan under water" like on Justice League: The Animated Series. That Aquaman was a badass, but not as compelling or interesting as the Arthur from comics. I want that Arthur. I also want to see people make fun of Aquaman's powers right to his face and then have Jason Mamoa shut them all up by displaying badassery.

2. Mera (Eva Green)

Why?: Mera may be Aquaman's girlfriend (or wife depending on continuity), but she is a strong independent woman in her own right. With her power to control water and her fiery attitude she can more than take care of herself. I picked Eva Green (Penny Dreadful) because she is a chameleon of an actress and is known for playing strong female roles.


Villains (Cast)

1. Black Manta (Will Smith)

Why?: I casted Smith in my recent Suicide Squad write-up (click link at bottom of article to read), so I decided to keep continuity and have him remain as Manta. He is the big bad and his vendetta against Arthur can be revealed throughout the movie. (There are many versions for why he hates Aquaman. Pick any one)

I want Manta's raid to be like his one on the Young Justice episode "Downtime". Replace Kaldur with Arthur though of course.



2. Orm/Ocean Master (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)

Why?: Aquaman's half-brother and the man who told Black Manta about the trench. Orm is seen as a good brother throughout the movie until the end when it is revealed to the audience that he helped plan the attack on Atlantis in order to show Arthur as an incompetent leader. Leading Arthur to be removed from the throne, so that Orm can take his place. I chose Jamie Lannister as Orm because he can play both good (Jamie seasons 3-4) and bad (Jamie Season 1-2) sides of characters.

3. The Trench (CGI)

Why?: The Trench don't speak English, but often yell in their own language (Mostly about food). They will all be CGI and any voice actor can speak their fairy tale language.


The 12 days of Editorials continues tomorrow with a write-up on Batman! Be sure to check back here then to see it for yourself! And read our first 3 articles on the DCCU by clicking the links below.

It took all my strength not to include Aqualad (Kaldur'am) and Topo in this movie because I love those characters. Perhaps they could be seen in a sequel. By the way if you haven't seen Geoff John's revamp of Topo, here it is in all it's glory.
Krakken Status

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