Compared to fellow Justice Leaguers like Batman and The Flash, Aquaman doesn't have the biggest rogues gallery. Nevertheless, the water-dwelling superhero has fought numerous colorful foes over the years, and the most well known of that group are Ocean Master and Black Manta, making their addition to the Aquaman movie unsurprising, though most definitely welcome. In recent weeks, we've gotten our first pictures at the characters in the next DC Extended Universe movie, but now we finally have an image showing us how these characters will look suited up on the big screen. Take a gander for yourself, below.
Played by Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, respectively, Ocean Master and Black Manta will be giving Arthur Curry loads of trouble in Aquaman this December, and like their comic book counterparts, they'll don special costumes/uniforms for battle. With San Diego Comic-Con about to kick off, Den of Geek has unveiled an exclusive Aquaman first look that's being used as the cover of its SDCC issue. Inspired by DC Comics artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Marcelo Maiolo, this "original work," according to producer Peter Safran, was commissioned by director James Wan, and it was later transformed into the photorealistic version you see above.
More importantly, it shows that Black Manta and Ocean Master will look quite similar to how they appear on the printed page. Ocean Master, a.k.a. Orm, is rocking the Atlantean war helmet, and while we'd already seen Black Manta's helmet, the assassin (real name David Kane) is a dead ringer for the Black Manta DC Comic fans have enjoyed for years in the comics, thought his overall outfit looks more like armor than a streamlined diving suit. Still, when you're fighting a super durable, quindent-wielding superhero, armor certainly comes in handy.
But Ocean Master and Black Manta aren't the only highlights of this image. If you look closely, you'll also see Willem Dafoe's Vulko and Dolph Lundgren's Nereus, two characters who we haven't seen until now. Vulko was originally supposed to introduce last year in Justice League, but like Kiersey Clemons' Iris West, he was cut out of the finalized version, so Aquaman will instead serve as the Atleantean adviser's big debut. As for Nereus, while he was an antagonist during Geoff Johns' New 52 run on the Aquaman book, he won't be one of the villains in the Aquaman movie, though he will still lead the underwater nation of Xebel. Rounding out this image are Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry, Amber Heard's Mera and Nicole Kidman's Atlanna, as well as The Fisherman King, some members of his species and a few Atlantean soldiers.
Aquaman swims into theaters on December 21, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. Don't forget to also look through our 2018 release schedule to find out what other movies are coming out later this year, as well as our DC movies guide to learn what other DCEU projects are in development.
