In the world of comic book movies, the key element that should separate James Wan's upcoming Aquaman from every other title in the genre will be the underwater setting. Given that the titular character is the King of Atlantis, we expect that most of the action will be taking place in the kingdom beneath the waves. However, you shouldn't expect the entire movie to be taking place in the sea, as the film's writer has revealed that some of the best stuff in the blockbuster actually takes place on land.
Screenwriter Will Beall has recently been promoting his work on the upcoming series Training Day, and when /Film had a chance to speak with him at a recent Television Critics Association event, he revealed just a tiny bit of info about his work on the Aquaman movie. Discussing the contrast of action in the water vs. action on land, Beall explained,
I can tell you that not all of the action takes place underwater. Some of the most fun action in the movie actually takes place on dry land.
While it certainly would have been cool to have a comic book movie that is entirely set underwater (maybe they can save that idea for a sequel?), this is probably good news for the film and the treatment of its titular character. While Aquaman's main domain is the sea, he is also a diplomat who has a very important role on the global stage, and given that the movie will be coming out after Zack Snyder's Justice League, we know that the hero will go into the film as a person everyone on Earth knows. If Aquaman is promising a good amount of action that takes place on dry land, it's a suggestion that the blockbuster won't be ignoring this very important part of the DC Comics hero.
Given that it's not scheduled for release until the middle of summer in 2018, Aquaman is still very much in the early stages of development, but with production planned to start next year, we should start hearing a lot more updates about the project in the coming months. The series already has some key pieces in place, with Jason Momoa playing the titular superhero, Amber Heard on board as Mera, and Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, and reports have said that the central antagonist in the film will be Aquaman's arch nemesis, Black Manta. You can be sure that we will be constantly tracking updates on the project as it inches ever closer to its July 27, 2018 release date, so be sure to stay tuned for more info.
In the meantime, how do you feel about the Aquaman splitting its time between the sea and land? Do you agree that it's the right choice, or would you have rather seen a story play out entirely underwater? Hit the comments section below with your thoughts!
