With the movie still pretty far from release, James Wan's Aquaman blockbuster remains mostly a mystery.That being said, we do know that it will feature an impressive number of very important characters to the DC Extended Universe, including Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Orm (Patrick Wilson) and Atlanna (possibly Nicole Kidman). That being said, if you're hoping that the film also marks the first big screen appearance of the sidekick Aqualad, you may not want to hold your breath. The director has bluntly explained that it is just too early in the continuity to introduce such an important character to the Aquaman mythos.
James Wan was recently asked on his personal Twitter page about the possibility of including Aqualad in the Aquaman film (specifically "looking for a aqua lad?'), and while many filmmakers hem and haw when given these queries, the filmmaker first addressed the idea directly:
Because Aqualad has become a popular character among DC Comics fans (particularly as a result of his role on the animated Young Justice series), this Tweet was met with some sad reactions from James Wan's followers. One specifically wrote "Whoa thanks for crushing a brotha's dreams," to which the Aquaman director responded,
Though there will certainly be fans out there who are disappointed by this news, it's also not hard at all to understand the perspective that James Wan is providing. Yes, it would be great if Aqualad eventually gets to the big screen, and maybe even is part of a live-action Young Justice blockbuster... but let's not forget that the Aquaman movie is the titular hero's first ever live-action solo feature. He deserves the opportunity to really get the spotlight for a while before he has to share it with a popular supporting character. The whole point of establishing a DC Extended Universe is the idea of building up to key figures to include like Aqualad, so it will likely ultimately be in fans' best interest to wait before demanding his inclusion in the 2018 film.
Aquaman, which stars Jason Momoa and is being written by Will Beall based on a story by James Wan and Geoff Johns, is currently in pre-production, but filmming is expected to begin in the next few months. The major blockbuster will surely being filmming for quite a while, but the end of the road will be October 5, 2018, when Warner Bros. plans to send the finished blockbuster into theaters nationwide. Stay tuned for more updates as the project moves further into development.
