Aquaman I

Science Fiction

## Cast

Aquaman/Arthur Curry: Jason Momoa
Mera: Emilia Clarke
Atlanna: Nicole Kidman
Vulko: Willem Dafoe
Orm/Ocean Master: Patrick Wilson
Nereus: Dolph Lundgren
Captain Murk: Ludi Lin
Black Manta: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Tom Curry: Temuera Morrison
Karathen: Julie Andrews
## Plot Synopsis

Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people -- and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm's half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.

## Plot

In 1985 Maine, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry rescues Atlanna, the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm. They fall in love and have a son named Arthur, who has the power to communicate with sea creatures. When Atlantean soldiers sent by King Orvax (the ruler of Atlantis) arrive to retrieve Atlanna, who fled her arranged marriage in Atlantis, she defeats them but is forced to leave her family to protect them from her people. She promises to return when safe to do so and goes back to Atlantis, entrusting her advisor, Nuidis Vulko, to train Arthur. Becoming a skilled warrior, Arthur rejects Atlantis upon learning that Atlanna was executed by Orvax for loving a human and having a half-breed son.

In the present, one year after Steppenwolf's defeat, Arthur confronts pirates hijacking a Russian *Akula*-class submarine. Their leader is killed in a failed attempt to kill Arthur, and his son David vows revenge. The present king Orm Marius, Orvax's son (who is now Atlantis's new ruler after his father passed away) and Arthur's younger half-brother, convinces King Nereus of Xebel to help unite Atlantis and destroy the surface world for polluting the oceans. If Orm unites all four kingdoms, he will receive the title of Ocean Master, commander of the most powerful force on the planet. Nereus agrees to help after they are attacked by the hijacked submarine.

Nereus' daughter Mera, betrothed to Orm, refuses to aid them and requests Arthur's help. Arthur accompanies her back to Atlantis, where Vulko urges him to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact of Atlantis' first ruler, to reclaim his rightful place as king. They are ambushed by Orm's men, and Arthur is captured. Orm blames him for Atlanna's death and nearly kills him in a duel before Mera rescues him. Arthur and Mera journey to the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters hidden under the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, Italy, where they retrieve the trident's coordinates.

Orm gives David a prototype Atlantean battle suit to kill Arthur, imprisons Vulko, and coerces the Kingdom of the Fishermen to pledge their allegiance to him by killing their king and forcing the queen and princess to accept. It is also revealed that Orm hired David and his father to hijack the Russian submarine (which is the same one that attacked Atlantis earlier) to win Nereus's support. An armored David rechristens himself as Black Manta and injures Arthur, but Arthur manages to defeat David. At their destination, Arthur and Mera fend off amphibious monsters of the Trench, and a wormhole transports them to an uncharted sea at the center of the Earth. They are reunited with Atlanna, who was sacrificed to the Trench for Arthur's illegitimate birth 20 years ago, but had survived and escaped to the uncharted sea, alive and well.

Arthur faces the Karathen, a mythical leviathan and keeper of the trident, and voices his determination to protect both Atlantis and the surface, reclaiming the trident, which grants him control over the seven seas. Orm leads his army against the Kingdom of the Brine to declare himself Ocean Master, while Arthur, with Mera, Karathen, and the Trench, lead an army of marine creatures against him. Orm's followers embrace Arthur as the true king upon learning that he wields Atlan's trident. Arthur defeats Orm but spares his life, and Orm accepts his imprisonment after discovering that Arthur rescued their mother. Atlanna reunites with Thomas as promised, while Arthur ascends to the throne.

In a mid-credits scene, David is rescued by Dr. Stephen Shin, a marine scientist and conspiracy theorist obsessed with Atlantis, and agrees to lead Shin there in exchange for help in his revenge on Arthur.