Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Aquaman!
In the final trailer for Aquaman, Arthur Curry tells Vulko that he already has a trident (technically a quindent), to which Willem Dafoe's Vulko responds "Not like this one you don't." King Atlan's trident serves as the MacGuffin in the film, driving the plot and Arthur Curry's journey, so it has to look cool. And while the legendary weapon does not disappoint, it actually could have looked very different. Check it out:
By the looks of things, Aquaman could have gone in a drastically different direction for the titular hero's weapon. As you can see from Mikhail Villareal's Twitter account, Aquaman conceptual designer Christian Scheurer was going for a trident with much longer points than the one that ultimately appears in the film. It also has more of a jagged look to it, like it was carved from diamond, with hard edges and sharp angles.
There are a couple of different designs in this tweet and it looks like they even considered going with a five-pointed weapon that almost has a medieval look to it, almost like something you would find in a fantasy video game. That one looks less like a standard weapon and more like a torture device.
The other obvious thing is that all of these designs show a weapon that is silver or dark grey in color. They're not dissimilar to Aquaman's mother's quindent, which he used in Justice League and in part of this film before it is broken in a battle with his brother.
Overall, these designs seem like very gritty-looking versions of King Atlan's trident, with a less flashy color and more of a dangerous and imposing aesthetic. Frankly, they look like they would have fit perfectly in a Zack Snyder-directed version of Aquaman.
These trident designs are all in stark contrast to King Atlan's trident in the final film, which is smooth, gold and gleaming, with shorter points and a more traditional look. Personally, I think the one used in the film works better for the story James Wan was telling. These concept designs show a trident that looks more for waging war than uniting the seven kingdoms as is its purpose.
The golden trident of King Atlan also has more of a regal look to it, befitting a king and being more of a match for the fun tone of Aquaman and the classic Aquaman costume Jason Momoa's character gets in the third act. The only bummer is that the costume and King Atlan's trident were shown in the trailer and thus they weren't a pleasant surprise we could geek out over in theaters.
I don't think it was the trident design, but whatever it was, audiences have been booking quite a few tickets to Atlantis since Aquaman splashed into theaters. James Wan's film is a smash success, the DCEU's biggest, and could very well be joining the $1 billion club at the box office.
Aquaman is now playing. Check out our 2019 release schedule for all of the biggest movies you can look forward to in this new year.
