After Arthur Curry teams up with his fellow DC superheroes in Justice League, he's going to have a lot to deal with in his solo movie. Earlier this year, it was reported that Aquaman will feature multiple villains, one of which will be Black Manta. Now the second antagonist has not only been revealed, but also cast, as Watchmen actor Patrick Wilson has been tapped to play Orm, better known in the comics as Ocean Master.
Deadline broke the news that the former Nite Owl will play Aquaman's half brother in the underwater blockbuster. The article points out that like the dynamic with Thor and Loki in the Thor movies, Arthur and Orm will have a similar sibling rivalry in Aquaman, which is keeping in line with their relationship in the comic books. This won't be Wilson's first role in the DCEU, as he vocally cameoed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as the President of the United States.
Introduced in 1966's Aquaman #29, Orm shares the same mother as Aquaman. As of the New 52, Orm is a full Atlantean, so while Arthur Curry grew up on the surface with his human father, Orm spent his formative years in Atlantis. Because Arthur's existence was unknown to the Atlanteans for years, Orm eventually inherited the Atlantean throne, but when Arthur came to Atlantis as an adult, the royal title passed to him since he was Queen Atlanna's firstborn. This resulted in Orm growing extremely jealous of his brother, and as Ocean Master, he's used his abilities and special trident to challenge Aquaman repeatedly, all because he believes he knows what's best for Atlantis. Ocean Master's appearances outside of the comics include the Justice League animated series, Young Justice and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis.
Until now, DC fans have known Patrick Wilson best for his role as Dan Dreiberg, a.k.a. the second Nite Owl, in 2009's Watchmen. Him joining Aquaman continues the steak of Watchmen actors appearing on screen in DCEU projects. Jeffrey Dean Morgan cameoed as Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Billy Crudup has been cast as Henry Allen in The Flash. Wilson's other notable credits include both Conjuring movies, The Phantom of the Opera, The A-Team movie, Prometheus, The Founder and the Fargo TV series. Fun fact, Wilson was also supposed to jump into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Ant-Man, but later had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
Patrick Wilson is the fourth actor to be added to Aquaman, with the other main cast members being Jason Momoa as the main hero, Amber Heard as Mera and Willem Dafoe as Vulko. As mentioned earlier, Black Manta will also be causing trouble, but no actor has been cast or officially announced for that role. Anyone else wondering if Ocean Master and Black Manta will team up, or will Orm attempt to overthrow his brother on his own?
Aquaman swims into theaters on October 5, 2018.
