Aquaman will likely feature two major villains, not three.
That’s the latest piece of intel from James Wan, writer-director on Warner’s maritime (and horror-leaning!) adventure. Chatting to Entertainment Weekly, the former Conjuring filmmaker swiftly debunked allegations that Aquaman will have three antagonists in total: Patrick Wilson as Arthur Curry’s half-brother, Orm (AKA the Ocean Master), Abdul-Mateen as Black Manta, and Dolph Lundgren as the unruly King Nereus.
Turns out that’s not the case, as James Wan wants to gently usher viewers into the world of Atlantis – not bombard them with three fantastical villains and risk overshadowing Jason Momoa’s King of the Seven.
This is what I’ll say: I don’t have three villains. I think that’s ridiculous! I would never go into an origin movie with three villains. We don’t even know the main character let alone the world and its antagonist. I believe in taking baby steps.
Going one step further, Wan then clarified that Patrick Wilson’s character, Orm/Ocean Master, is the central antagonist of Aquaman – even if the filmmaker refuses to call him the outright villain.
I want to introduce Arthur Curry in a much more emotional and powerful way, and introduce Mera played by Amber Heard, and of course there’s Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison playing his parents. We know Black Manta is in there, but I will say this: Patrick Wilson is the main antagonist in this film. I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘villain,’ but he’s the antagonist.
Behind the scenes, with a studio shake-up seemingly scheduled for January, the future of Warner’s DC Extended Universe has undoubtedly been placed under the microscope – you can thank Justice League‘s failings for that one, while it seems Time Warner, WB’s parent company, wants to sever ties with Zack Snyder.
All of this only adds more pressure onto Aquaman‘s burly shoulders, and we’ll discover if the James Wan-directed spinoff is up to the task on December 21st, 2018.
Published: Dec 15, 2017 09:07 am