The Ocean Master (AKA Orm Marius) is all set to become the main villain of Warner’s Aquaman spinoff, and new photos unearthed via Twitter appear to shed light on his Atlantean minions.
First spotted by CBM, Orm doesn’t actually feature in this particular batch of set stills; instead, James Wan and his team were capturing scenes involving those Atlanteans who pledge their allegiance to the Ocean Master in his quest to overthrow his half-brother, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), and claim Atlantis for himself. It’s a power struggle that ought to evoke comparisons to Marvel’s Inhumans, which also focuses on a royal family splintered by an unruly tyrant.
What really sets Aquaman apart, though, is the fact that most of James Wan’s DC standalone pic unfolds beneath the waves. Even for a director with a vast amount of experience in Hollywood’s blockbuster scene (see: Furious 7, The Conjuring Universe), this posed some daunting challenges for Wan to overcome, and to his credit, the director has vowed to incorporate practical effects whenever possible.
That’s something that’s placed on display up above, where you’ll find an Atlantean being hoisted into the air and what appears to be Momoa’s Arthur Curry, who is seen exiting a building through the nearest window. The King of the Seven is no slouch, so we can only assume his Aquaman has encountered a worthy opponent. Orm, perhaps? Let the speculation commence.
Filming on Warner Bros. and James Wan’s Aquaman is expected to continue through until October, at which point DC fans will be within touching distance of Justice League. It’ll bring about our first true look at the rightful Atlantean King in action across both land and sea, and with Wan promising to keep CGI to a minimum for Arthur Curry’s solo outing, December 21st, 2018 can’t come soon enough.