Though my excitement levels for James Wan’s Aquaman were pretty low after that underwhelming first trailer, they perked up a bit after the recent extended promo (which reminded me of Steven Spielberg’s Tintin) and I might be inching into hyped now that I’ve seen a picture of everyone’s favorite innately sinister character actor Willem Dafoe sitting atop an armored Hammerhead Shark. As a man who likes both Dafoe and marine biology, it feels squarely targeted right at me.
Originally slated to appear in Justice League, Dafoe’s Vulko ended up (like so much other good stuff) on the cutting room floor. But it looks like his delayed debut is going to be made in style this December. If you’re not familiar with the particulars of Aquaman’s supporting cast in the comics (and let’s face it, that’s a pretty deep dive – pun intended), Vulko’s a big cheese in Atlantis, a politician and scientist who does much of the day to day administration of the place while Aquaman’s off beating up unconvincingly CGI’d baddies with the Justice League.
While the film doesn’t have a great deal of competition at the Christmas box office, running against a weirdly conceived PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 called The Deadpool Before Christmas and Sony’s awesome looking Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, audiences won’t have forgotten the Frankensteinian abomination that was last year’s Justice League so easily. As such, Warner Bros. will be praying that they at least liked Jason Momoa’s take on Aquaman in the film.
Oh well, maybe the promise of beloved character actors ripping it up on kickass sea creatures will entice them? And while we’re at it, can we get Bill Murray to turn up on a squid for a cameo?
