Originally published April 29, 2018. Updated April 30, 2018.
After showing off some footage from Aquaman at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this past week [read a description here], director James Wan has been chatting to Entertainment Weekly about the film, and in particular its two villains Orm/Ocean Master and Black Manta.
“The main antagonist in this movie is Orm, played by Patrick Wilson,” said Wan. “And Black Manta, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen, is caught up in that world with them as well. But the main drive really is, it’s almost a very classic Shakespearean story about a brother from another world vs. a brother from another world. And it really is a classic story of sibling rivalry.”
“We’re used to superhero movies where the threat is from another dimension or aliens from another universe coming here and trying to destroy our Earth,” Wan continued. “But we haven’t seen one where the main threat is from a massive, massive civilization that is right under our nose, in the ocean.… The idea that there could be a massive civilization living right underneath [us] that we don’t know about is kind of scary and exciting.”
SEE ALSO: Jason Momoa discusses how Aquaman tells an origin story
Meanwhile, actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II also offered a few words on his role as Black Manta, stating: “It was a huge role. This will be, to date, my biggest role. I’m so excited. I have a lot of fun playing quote unquote villains because I think the bad guys get to have more fun, right. And then also, this is a character who we’ve never seen in the canon on film before and I have a lot of fun teasing the fans and going back and forth with the fans on the internet about what’s going to be in the movie or how he’s gonna look. So, there’s a lot of mystery. I’m really enjoying it all.”
Hopefully we won’t have much longer to wait for our first glimpse at Orm and Black Manta once the trailer for Aquaman finally arrives online.
Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and to be a hero to the world.
Aquaman is directed by James Wan (The Conjuring) and stars Jason Momoa as the titular hero, reprising his role from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, along with Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Dr. Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Ludi Lin as Murk, Michael Beach as Jesse Kane, Randall Park as Otis Dhanji as a young Arthur Curry and Graham McTavish in an as-yet-unrevealed role.
