Aquaman

Aquaman is a 2018 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by DC Entertainment and Peter Safran Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by James Wan, from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall. It stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman, who sets out to lead The Atlantis Kingdom and stop his half-brother, King Orm, from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms to destroy the surface world. Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman appear in supporting roles.
Talks of an Aquaman film began in 2004, with several plans falling through over the years, before gaining traction after the release of Man of Steel in 2013. In August 2014, Beall and Kurt Johnstad were hired to write two competing scripts, and the film was officially announced in October 2014. Wan signed on as director in April 2015 and in July 2016 it was announced the film would move forward with Beall's screenplay, although Wan, Johnstad, Johns and Johnson-McGoldrick all performed various rewrites. Much of the main cast was confirmed throughout 2016 and early 2017. Principal photography began in Australia on May 2, 2017, with most of the film shot at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Queensland, and wrapped on October 21, 2017. Several vendors provided visual effects, ranging from high-detail hair simulations to the creation of CGI animals and locations.
Aquaman premiered in London on November 26, 2018, and was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX and IMAX 3D on December 21. It grossed $1.148 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing DCEU film, the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2018. The film received praise for its visual effects, production design, action sequences, and Momoa's performance, while being criticized for its script, dialogue, and story. An animated miniseries set after the film, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, aired from October 14 to October 28, 2021, while a live-action sequel film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is set to be released on December 25, 2023. The latter will serve as the final installment of the DCEU before the franchise is rebooted as the DC Universe.
==Plot==
In Maine, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry rescues Atlanna, the princess of the underwater nation of Atlantis, during a storm. They eventually fall in love and have a son, Arthur, who is born with the power to communicate with marine lifeforms. Atlanna is forced to abandon her family and return to Atlantis, entrusting to her loyal advisor Nuidis Vulko the mission of training Arthur. Under Vulko's guidance, Arthur becomes a skilled warrior but is rejected by the Atlanteans for being a half-breed and ultimately leaves Atlantis behind.
One year after Steppenwolf's invasion, Arthur confronts a group of pirates attempting to hijack a nuclear submarine. Their leader, Jesse Kane, dies during the confrontation while his son, David, vows revenge against Arthur. David later targets Atlantis at the behest of Orm, Arthur's younger half-brother and Atlantis' king who uses the attack as a pretext to declare war on the surface. King Nereus of Xebel swears allegiance to Orm's cause, but his daughter Mera, who has been betrothed to Orm, refuses to aide them and journeys to the surface to ask Arthur for help, earning his trust by saving Thomas from a tidal wave sent by Orm. Arthur reluctantly accompanies Mera to a rendezvous with Vulko, who urges Arthur to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact that once belonged to Atlantis’ first ruler in order to reclaim his rightful place as king. They are ambushed by Orm’s men and Mera and Vulko escape, while Arthur is captured.
Orm visits Arthur in captivity and announces that Atlanna was executed for the crime of having a half-breed son, blaming Arthur and the surface for her death. He offers Arthur an opportunity to leave forever, but Arthur instead challenges him to a duel in a ring of underwater lava. Orm gains the upper hand and nearly kills Arthur before Mera rescues him. Together, Arthur and Mera journey to the Sahara desert where the trident was forged and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, where they retrieve the trident’s coordinates. Meanwhile, Orm provides David with Atlantean armor and weaponry and sends him to stop them, imprisons Vulko upon learning of his betrayal, and coerces the remaining kingdoms of Atlantis to pledge allegiance to him and his campaign against the surface.
In Sicily, David, now calling himself Black Manta, ambushes Arthur and Mera and injures Arthur before being thrown off a cliff to his apparent death. Mera nurses Arthur’s wounds as they journey to the trident’s whereabouts, and encourages him to embrace his destiny as a hero. Arriving at their destination, Arthur and Mera are attacked by a legion of amphibious monsters known as The Trench, but manage to fend them off and reach a wormhole that transports them to an uncharted sea located at the center of the Earth. There, they are unexpectedly reunited with Atlanna, who was sacrificed to the Trench for her crimes but managed to escape and reach the uncharted sea, where she has been stranded ever since.
Arthur faces Karathen, the mythical leviathan that guards the trident, and voices his determination to protect both Atlantis and the surface, proving his worth and reclaiming the trident, which grants him control over the seven seas. Arthur, Mera, and Atlanna lead an army of marine creatures in battle against Orm and his followers, who renounce their obedience to Orm and embrace Arthur as the true king upon learning he wields the trident. Arthur defeats Orm in combat, but chooses to spare his life and Orm accepts his fate after discovering Arthur has found and rescued their mother. Atlanna returns to the surface to reunite with Thomas while Arthur ascends to the throne with Mera by his side.
In a mid-credits scene, Black Manta is rescued by Dr. Stephen Shin, a scientist obsessed with finding Atlantis, and agrees to lead Shin there in exchange for his help in his revenge on Arthur.
==Cast==
*Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman : A half-Atlantean half-Human who is reluctant to be king of the undersea nation of Atlantis. He has the ability to manipulate the tides of the ocean, communicate with other aquatic life, swim at supersonic speeds, and possesses superhuman strength. Kaan Guldur portrays a 9-year-old Arthur Curry, and Otis Dhanji portrays a 13-year-old Arthur.
*Amber Heard as Mera: Arthur Curry’s love interest, a warrior and daughter of the king of the Atlantean tribe of Xebel, who was raised by Queen Atlanna and groomed to become queen. Mera possesses hydrokinetic and telepathic powers that allow her to control her aquatic environment and communicate with other Atlanteans.
*Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko: Atlantis' counselor who would become a mentor of Arthur Curry when he first comes to Atlantis.
*Patrick Wilson as Orm / Ocean Master: Arthur Curry's Atlantean half-brother and ruler of Atlantis, who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms to declare war on the surface world out of belief humanity polluted the seas.
*Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus : The king of the Atlantean tribe of Xebel and Mera's father.
*Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane / Black Manta: A ruthless treasure hunter and a high-seas mercenary with a flair for creating deadly technological innovations.
*Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna: The Queen of Atlantis, mother of Arthur Curry and Orm.
Additionally, Ludi Lin portrays Murk , the Captain of the Men-of-War, the frontline army of Atlantis; Temuera Morrison portrays Thomas Curry : Arthur Curry's father and a lighthouse keeper; Randall Park portrays Dr. Stephen Shin , a marine biologist who was friends with Thomas Curry; Michael Beach portrays Jesse Kane, a member of a group of boatjackers and Black Manta's father. Djimon Hounsou, Natalia Safran, and Sophia Forrest were cast as the Fisherman King, Fisherman Queen, and the Fisherman Princess whom Orm creates alliance with as part of his plan to unite the seven kingdoms. Graham McTavish has been cast in an undisclosed role.
==Production==
====Development====
In 2004, FilmJerk.com reported that Sunrise Entertainment's Alan and Peter Riche planned to bring Aquaman to the big screen for Warner Bros. with Robert Ben Garant writing the screenplay. However, the film fell through. In July 2009, it was reported that Aquaman was in development at Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way. Warner chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said that the Aquaman film was in development. A source from Warner Bros. told The Wrap that they were discussing the possibilities, with the mention of more Man of Steel movies as well as a Superman/Batman film, a Wonder Woman film, and an Aquaman film. Geoff Johns told Variety that Aquaman is a priority character for the company. It was announced on August 12, 2014, that Warner Bros. had hired screenwriters Will Beall and Kurt Johnstad to pen two separate scripts for an upcoming Aquaman film. The film was being developed on dual tracks, meaning that two scripts were written, one by Beall and one by Johnstad, but only the better version would move forward.
On April 10, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that James Wan was the frontrunner to direct the film. In June 2015, Wan was confirmed to direct the film and overlook the screenplay by Kurt Johnstad. On November 12, 2015, David Leslie Johnson was hired to write the script, however it was unclear whether he would be writing a separate script or working with Wan. It was then revealed that previous script plans had been scrapped and that both Wan and Johns planned to move forward with a new script written by screenwriter Will Beall. Later, Johnson was brought back to the project to work on a rewrite of Beall's script.
On March 2016, it was announced that the events of Aquaman will be set after Justice League. Wan confirmed later on Twitter that cinematographer Don Burgess, who previously worked with Wan on The Conjuring 2, will serve as cinematographer for Aquaman. Pre-production began in Australia in late November 2016.
====Casting====
On October 20, 2014, in an interview with ComicBook.com, Jason Momoa revealed that the Justice League film would be coming first and that's what they were preparing for, and he didn't know if the solo Aquaman film would come before or after Justice League. He thought it might be the origin, where Aquaman came from. Warner Bros. announced Aquaman as a part of the DC Extended Universe, with Jason Momoa starring. In December 2014, it was revealed that Momoa had signed a four-picture deal with the studio and DC, and he wanted Zack Snyder to direct the solo Aquaman film. On January 13, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Amber Heard entered negotiations to play the female lead role of Mera, Aquaman's love interest; her casting was confirmed two months later.In April 2016, Willem Dafoe was cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be Nuidis Vulko. On December 12, 2016 it was confirmed that Patrick Wilson will play the villainous Ocean Master, the half-brother of Aquaman. On January 31, 2017, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was added to the cast as the villain, Black Manta. That same day, the press reported that Nicole Kidman had entered talks to play Queen Atlanna. Two months later, Kidman confirmed her participation in the film. By February 2017, New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison entered talks to play Thomas Curry, Aquaman’s human father. On April 12, Dolph Lundgren was cast to play Nereus, king of Xebel. Ludi Lin was cast in the film on May 15, 2017. Almost two weeks later, Michael Beach, who voiced Devil Ray, a character loosely based on Black Manta in Justice League Unlimited, was cast as Black Manta's father. In October 2017, Graham McTavish revealed that he has a role in the film. In April 2018, Randall Park was cast as Dr. Stephen Shin. In July, Djimon Hounsou, Natalia Safran and Sophia Forrest were cast as the Fisherman King, Fisherman Queen and the Fisherman Princess.
====Filming====
Principal photography began in Australia on May 2, 2017, under the working title Ahab. A majority of the film was shot at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Queensland with production also held in Newfoundland, Canada, as well as Italy and Morocco. Between May and August 2017, production also took place on location around a number of places of the Australian Gold Coast including Main Beach, Coomera, Southport and Amity Point in North Stradbroke Island in Queensland as well as Hastings Point in New South Wales. On filming underwater sequences, Wan stated that "the underwater world is super complicated" and "it's not an easy shoot". On August 11, 2017, filming began on the Arthur Curry Lighthouse set at Hastings Point and ended later that month. In September, during an interview with Kiss Radio, actor Ludi Lin described Wan's vision for the film as 'Star Wars underwater'. That same month, filming took place in Newfoundland and Labrador.[55] Willem Dafoe finished up his part by late September. On October 13, James Wan announced that Patrick Wilson wrapped on the film. Filming on location took place in the deserts of Morocco by mid-October, which included the cities of Merzouga and Erfoud. Principal photography wrapped on October 21, 2017.
====Post-production====
James Wan's five-time collaborator Kirk Morri serves as the editor for Aquaman. Two-time Academy Award winner Charles Gibson (Babe and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), and Kelvin McIlwain (The Fast and the Furious franchise) serve as visual effects supervisors. Rodeo FX, Scanline VFX, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Method Studios and Weta Digital will be providing the visual effects for the film.
==Music==
On March 7, 2018, Rupert Gregson-Williams was announced as the composer for Aquaman. Gregson-Williams previously wrote the score for Wonder Woman, the fourth entry in the DC Films shared universe.
==Marketing==
In March 2017, a first look at Aquaman was shown prior to shooting during the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, Nevada with Momoa introducing a video of director James Wan showing off a concept art sizzle reel for the movie. Later, on July 22, the film's first footage made its debut at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2017 with a teaser presented by Momoa during the Warner Bros.'s panel at Hall H; director James Wan presented the footage stating that "in a lot of ways, this is an origin story", referring to the film. In April 2018, another teaser with new rough footage was shown off by Wan and Momoa at CinemaCon, joined by Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II on stage. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly during the event, Wan teased the conflict between Arthur Curry and his half-brother and main antagonist in the film, Orm / Ocean Master, stating that "it's almost a very classic Shakespearean story about brother from another world vs. brother from another world. And it really is a classic story of sibling rivalry". On June 11, 2018, the film's first trailer was previewed at the European exhibitors’ conference CineEurope in Barcelona, Spain. A first look at Black Manta, Ocean Master, Queen Atlanna and Nuidis Vulko were revealed by Entertainment Weekly on June 14, 2018. Wan announced that the first trailer will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2018. The cast is also set to appear as guests at the late-night talk show Conan with Conan O'Brien during SDCC, on Sunday, July 22. On July 16, 2018, an official teaser poster was released. On July 21, 2018, the first trailer was released at the SDCC 2018, being considered the best received trailer during the international convention; it was attached to theatrical showings of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies and Mission: Impossible - Fallout.
==Release==
Aquaman was scheduled released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on December 21, 2018. The film was initially scheduled to be released on July 27, 2018, however on December 2, 2016, it was moved to October 5, 2018. In March 2017, Warner Bros. finally moved the film to December 21. The film was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on December 14, 2018.
===Box Office===
Aquaman grossed $335.1 million in the United States and Canada and $812.6 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $1.148 billion. It became the highest-grossing installment in the DCEU and the highest-grossing film based on any DC character, as well as Warner Bros.' second-highest-grossing film worldwide behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($1.342 billion). Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $260.5 million when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the fifth-most-profitable release of 2018, behind Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
===Critical Reception===
Aquaman recieved mixed to positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 65% of 411 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Aquaman swims with its entertainingly ludicrous tide, offering up CGI superhero spectacle that delivers energetic action with an emphasis on good old-fashioned fun." Metacritic surveyed 50 critics and assigned a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
==Sequel==
In December 2018, it was reported that Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich had the studio start developing a sequel. Discussions of a follow-up film had begun during post-production, when director James Wan stated to TotalFilm that the first film purposefully left room for further stories. Jason Momoa told Syfy Wire that he had the beginning for a sequel written, and that after he pitched it to the studio through Emmerich and Safran, they were receptive and enthusiastic. In January 2019, the sequel was officially confirmed to be in development, with the studio courting Wan to return. The following month, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, co-writer of the first film, signed on as the screenwriter. Warner Bros. confirmed via The Hollywood Reporter in February 2019 that the studio has set a release date of December 16, 2022, with pre-production set to begin in 2020. In October 2019, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II told Uproxx that he will reprise his role as Black Manta for the sequel. In November 2020, Amber Heard confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that she will be reprising her role as Mera in the sequel, with shooting to begin in 2021. In March 2021, DiscussingFilm reported that the film is looking to begin filming this June in the UK under the production title "Necrus" and that Richard Sale will join the project as a costume designer. The working title has roots in Aquaman lore and may allude to the underwater city of Necrus making an appearance. In April 2021, Pilou Asbæk entered talks to join the cast. In June 2021, the film's title was revealed as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Creature Designer Ken Barthelmey is working on the designs. On June 28, 2021, Wan posted a photo on Instagram, announcing that production on the sequel has begun.
===Animated miniseries===
In January 2020, a three-part animated miniseries based on Aquaman was announced, with James Wan set to serve as executive producer, and to premiere on HBO Max. Although non-canonical to the wider DCEU, Aquaman: King of Atlantis would be set after the events of Wan's 2018 DCEU Aquaman film, explicitly referencing its events throughout, and feature the voices of Cooper Andrews, Gillian Jacobs, Thomas Lennon, and Dana Snyder respectively replacing Momoa, Heard, Wilson, and Dafoe in their roles. On February 17, 2021, the Television Critics Association had a press junket with HBO Max, in which a promotional image was released. On September 1, 2021, it was announced the series will air on Cartoon Network as part of the ACME Night block. On September 10, 2021, it was announced it will be released on October 14, 2021.
===Canceled spin-off===
In February 2019, Warner Bros. announced that a "horror-tinged" spin-off called The Trench was in development, with Wan producing and Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald writing the script. The plot would focus on the amphibious monsters that Arthur and Mera faced in Aquaman, while Black Manta would act as the film's protagonist, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II reprising his role. In April 2021, Warner Bros. decided to cancel the project, though stated that it may be revived in the future.
==See also==
*Aquaman/Gallery
==Videos==
Trailer
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