Following his cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry made his full DC Extended Universe debut last year in Justice League, and his background were briefly touched upon. But it will be in the Aquaman movie later this year that Arthur's origins are deeply explored, and that will include meeting his mother, Queen Atlanna, played by Nicole Kidman. With six months to go until Aquaman's release, we finally have our first look at how Kidman will look as Atlantean royalty on the big screen.
Nicole Kidman already had some superhero movie experience under her belt with her role as Dr. Chase Meridian in 1995's Batman Forever. For Aquaman, though, she's playing someone who was already an established comic book character. As you can see on the EW magazine cover, Kidman's Atlanna, alongside Jason Momoa as Aquaman's eponymous protagonist and Amber Heard as Mera, certainly looks regal, though as Kidman mentioned last year, she can hold her own in a fight. The blonde hair is also in keeping with her usual depictions in the comics, although Atlanna in the New 52 continuity boasted pure white hair in the present day. The above cover is one of many Aquaman pictures that EW included in its new issue, which also included our first peek at Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta.
Just like in the DC Comics pages, Jason Momoa's iteration of Aquaman is the son of Atlanna, an Atlantean, and Thomas Curry, a human who's being played by Temuera Morrison in the upcoming movie. As we learned in Justice League, Atlanna was forced to give up Arthur (his Atlantean name being Orin) when she feared that his half-human, half-Atlantean heritage would place him in danger, and Arthur was subsequently raised by Thomas. Traditionally Atlanna eventually dies, but in the New 52 universe, it was revealed that she'd faked her death to escape Atlantis. It remains to be seen if Atlanna is still alive in the present day DCEU or if she died after handing young Arthur off to Thomas.
No specific plot details for Aquaman have been revealed yet, but the story will involve Arthur Curry finally embracing the Atlantean throne, only to have to prevent the Atlanteans from attacking the surface dwellers, who continue to pollute the seven seas. His's two chief adversaries in the movie will be his half-brother Orm, better known as Ocean Master (Atlanna is also his mother), and ruthless treasure hunter David Kane, a.k.a. Black Manta. Aquaman's lineup of characters also includes Atlantean advisor Nuidis Vulko, Xebellian king Nereus, Men-of-War leader Murk, Black Manta's father Jesse Kane and Dr. Stephen Shin.
Aquaman will make a splash in theaters on December 21. For all the latest updates concerning the underwater blockbuster and other upcoming DC movies, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
