Australia’s famous Gold Coast has been playing host to Aquaman for the past eight weeks now, and during that time, budding DC fans have largely been kept in the loop thanks to a steady stream of set photos, not to mention those leaked videos showcasing Jason Momoa’s King of the Seven (and his co-stars!) in action.
Behind the lens for this one is James Wan, the esteemed filmmaker and all-around horror maestro who first made a name for himself through micro-budget scarefests in the vein of The Conjuring and Insidious. It didn’t take long before Hollywood executives took notice of Wan’s immense talent – Universal appointed him at the helm of Furious 7, which became the first entry in the petrolhead saga to cruise past $1 billion at the global box office.
Wan has a great deal of experience in the blockbuster genre, then, and for Aquaman, he’s ready to up the ante. On board to help the director achieve that vision – a vision that will purportedly portray Arthur Curry’s origin story as a family saga – are Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Ludi Lin as Murk, The Conjuring alum Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, and Michael Beach as Jesse Kane.
There’s also Amber Heard as Mera, Queen of Atlantis, who can be seen alongside Momoa and James Wan in Aquaman‘s latest set photo, which was shared via Heard’s Twitter feed.
Beyond Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon’s Justice League, Aquaman is the only other DC tentpole with a firm release date to call its own. Originally penciled in for mid-July, the solo movie has since relocated to December 2018, where it’ll enjoy a Star Wars-free festive period – you know, providing Disney and Lucasfilm’s Han Solo stays on course. It’s currently scheduled to drop on May 25th, 2018, and though the recent change in personnel – Phil Lord and Chris Miller out; Ron Howard in – has postponed production ever so slightly, the Mouse House is still committed to that late-May launch date.
Aquaman, meanwhile, is due to pull into port on December 23rd, 2018, though there have been rumblings that James Wan’s maritime spinoff will be part of Warner’s showcase at San Diego Comic-Con later this month. We’ll find out one way or another when the studio descends on Hall H next week.
