Aquaman features a sort of super-villain team-up between King Orm AKA Ocean Master and fearsome pirate Black Manta. While Orm hires Manta to drum up fear of the surface world amongst his people and then to hunt Arthur Curry down, the pair don’t have a particularly prominent partnership as they each have their own goals. According to Patrick Wilson though, he’d love to see his character team up with a few other DC villains in future movies.
Wilson was pitched the possibility while speaking with Heroic Hollywood and reacted positively to the idea. He cited some occurrences in the comics in which Ocean Master’s depicted as being out of his depth on the surface world. So, having him form a union with some land-dwelling bad guys could be a fun way to explore this.
“I would. I love the comics when he’s just sort of — forgive the pun — a fish out of water. It’s fun, it’s really funny stuff. Cause I think there’s a lot of humor there. He does not serve that purpose in this movie right now, but I think there is a lot there with Orm. You have that with Mera and with Arthur in their respective worlds so you see that through Amber [Heard]’s eyes of being in another world and feeling how strange that is. We didn’t do that in this movie with Orm…”
The actor went on to add that, though it’d be exciting, he’s not sure it would fit with Orm’s character as he doesn’t view the former king of Atlantis as necessarily being a villain and isn’t sure if he’d link arms with the likes of say, Lex Luthor or the Joker.
“But I’d be very curious to see him with other people cause he’s really his own beast. On one hand it’d be interesting to see him in those movies with other villains and in some ways I don’t think he’d get along with anybody like that. I don’t see it. His intentions to me aren’t bad. Maybe that’s because I play him. But, sure from a fan perspective, I do like seeing him on the surface world… it would be very funny.”
At the end of Aquaman, Orm seems to have at least the beginnings of a change of heart as, after the reappearance of his believed-dead mother Atlanna, he basically gives up quietly and allows himself to be taken away, thereby handing his throne over to his half-brother Arthur. With that in mind, it’s possible that the character will be redeemed in a potential sequel rather than teaming up with other villains, but we’ll just have to wait and see.