When Zack Snyder first revealed Jason Momoa as Aquaman a few years ago, the image came with a very cryptic message: "Unite The Seven." At the time there was a great deal of speculation about what it could mean, with many wondering if it could reference the seven core members of the Justice League from the comics, but it turns out that guess was wrong. Instead, it was actually an important clue about the plot of the upcoming Aquaman movie, as I learned on the set of the film last year talking with production designer Bill Brzeski:
This is a complicated story. It's not just like you go to Atlantis, and it's Atlantis... Atlantis fell into the ocean about 5,000 years ago, and it morphed into seven different kingdoms. So, when you go to the movie, you've got Trench people; you've got Brine people; you have Xebellian people; you have the Fisherman Kingdom; you have The Missing Kingdom; and you have the Atlanteans. So, the storyline, if you saw on the internet, it says 'Unite the seven.' Really, what that's about for Orm, who is the king of Atlantis, he's half-brother to Aquaman, is to take control and become an "Ocean Master"... He has to unite the seven kingdoms, so you have to have this quorum to really get things going down there.
I visited the set of Aquaman with a small group of other journalists last summer in Melbourne, Australia, and part of our junket included a tour of the production art room a.k.a. The War Room, and it was there was we had the chance to talk with Bill Brzeski about his work on the film. Diving into the complex world that will be introduced to audiences later this year, the filmmaker painted a picture for us what to expect from Atlantis on the big screen, and while he only named six of the seven kingdoms, he answered an important question we've been asking for a long time.
Comic book fans probably perked up at the mention of Ocean Master at the end there, given that is the supervillain moniker taken on by Orm in the pages of DC Comics. The character will be introduced in live-action for the first time in Aquaman, played by Patrick Wilson, and when we first meet him in the story he will have a very specific mission. While he sits on the throne of Atlantis, it is his goal to unite the seven kingdoms, and will do so by any means necessary -- particularly because of his antagonism towards the human race. Unfortunately for him, the big step is acquiring the King's Trident, and recognizing the potential danger Orm represents to the surface world, Aquaman teams up with Mera (Amber Heard) to stop him.
Will Aquaman be able to successfully stop his brother and potentially unite the seven kingdoms himself? We won't find out until James Wan's Aquaman hits theaters later this year -- specifically on December 21st. Between now and then be sure to keep checking CinemaBlend, as we have a lot more content coming from my time on set.
