Having effectively shared, and occasionally stolen, the spotlight from his on-screen superiors in Justice League, Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry will finally lead his own movie when Aquaman hits theaters later this year on December 21st.
Undoubtedly, the James Wan-directed pic is one of the year’s most hotly-anticipated superhero releases. Unfortunately, though, we haven’t seen a trailer yet, and to make matters worse, initial reactions to the film during test screenings are said to have come back negative. Which was a shock considering that just a month prior, it was reported that Aquaman was “very emotional” and contained “tons of action.”
Given the current state of the DCEU, a flop here could be fatal. While Wonder Woman 2 managed to restore some hope in fans last month following the release of a production start date and the casting announcement of Kristen Wiig as the villain Cheetah, DC hasn’t exactly instilled unwavering confidence in enthusiasts. That said, there’s still plenty of room for optimism.
Even despite the mixed test screening reactions, the studio’s said to have high hopes for Aquaman and while we’ve still yet to see much from it, Arthur Curry himself took to Instagram earlier today and posted a behind the scenes look at the current reshoots that the pic’s undergoing. What exactly’s being fixed up or improved is unknown, but from what we understand, there’s nothing to worry about.
Plot details are understandably thin at the moment, but it’s believed the film will explore the character’s rich history and his reluctance to accept the role of King. Not only that, but it will also have elements of a horror movie – hardly surprising, given Wan’s résumé – and will apparently be unlike any other DCEU outing we’ve seen before. That’s something that the director himself reiterated while talking with EW a few months back, too, stating that his upcoming standalone pic is more of a traditional “action-adventure quest film.” Sign us up.
“It’s going to look very different, it will feel very different — aesthetically, tonally, story-wise — it’s my own take,” said the director. “It’s a much more a traditional action-adventure quest movie.”
Written by Will Beall, Aquaman stars Momoa as Arthur Curry, Amber Heard as Mera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna and Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko. Look for it to swim into theaters on December 21st.