Jason Momoa suits up again — and perhaps, for the final time — as the oceanic superhero.
Superhero comic books have been around since the ’30s and contain multitudes: they can be everything from colourful, silly, and dramatic to poignant, thought-provoking, and artistic. DC Comics’ Aquaman, who has been the butt of jokes for most of his existence, certainly fits into the silly and goofy side of the superhero spectrum. With his orange and green outfit and his best-known superpower being talking to fish, it’s easy to see why the character has attracted mockery.
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That is until Jason Momoa stepped into the picture. The actor looks worlds away from the classic clean-shaven, short-haired, fair-skinned comic book version of Aquaman, but he made the character his own. “I thought for sure I was going to be playing [DC Comics villain] Lobo or something,” Momoa tells Entertainment Weekly about how he reacted when Zack Snyder invited him to join the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
On being told he was being considered to play Aquaman, Momoa says: “I was like, ‘What? Blonde? Tights? Orange and green shirt?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, man, is this a joke?’” And yet, under the direction of Snyder and then James Wan, he reinvented the character and brought much of his own personality to the role.
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Momoa’s Aquaman first appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then in Justice League (both directed by Snyder), and then in the 2018 standalone Aquaman movie (directed by Wan). Much to everyone’s surprise, Aquaman went on to become the highest-grossing DC movie ever made and is the only DCEU movie to have surpassed a billion dollars at the global box office. As such, a sequel was highly anticipated, and it’s been rough seas getting there, but at last, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has arrived upon our shores.
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Arthur Curry/Aquaman is settling into life as a husband and father while fulfilling his duties as the King of Atlantis. An old threat rears its head in the form of David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who was defeated by Aquaman in the first film and has since been plotting his revenge. Black Manta has discovered the fabled Lost Kingdom in Antarctica, acquiring the powerful Black Trident and becoming possessed by the Kingdom’s long-dormant leader, King Kordax (Pilou Asbæk). Aquaman turns to his half-brother, the exiled former ruler of Atlantis, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson). Orm is being punished for murdering the Fisherman King in the first film and is imprisoned in a desert cavern. Together, they must overcome their differences to battle Black Manta and save Atlantis.
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Aquaman himself occupies a unique position in the DCEU canon. While the cinematic universe was originally intended to be a cohesive one, behind-the-scenes events caused some of the individual projects to head off in their own direction while remaining under the larger DCEU umbrella. As such, Aquaman and Atlantis look drastically different in Justice League as compared to the Aquaman movies. While Snyder favours muted tones, Wan’s movies burst with colour and embrace the fantasy elements of the Aquaman comics. Momoa bridges those differing takes with his performance, alternately channelling seriousness and embracing goofiness.
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom underwent a tumultuous production process: it was plagued by various delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, weathered regime changes at DC Films, and underwent at least three rounds of reshoots to address concerns raised during test screenings.
This movie shifts from the Romancing the Stone tone of the first one to a buddy movie. “While our last movie was a love story that focused on Arthur, this is an action-adventure with two brothers, Arthur and Orm, overcoming their differences to save the world,” Wan explains.
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The movie offers up old-school sci-fi fantasy settings against which the action unfolds. “The Lost Kingdom has a very retro, ‘60s horror look,” Wan tells Empire, citing the Italian sci-fi horror movie Planet of the Vampires as an influence. The movie’s set pieces include Arthur and Orm battling a squid-like mechanical beast called an ‘Octobot’, harking back to Jules Verne-inspired sci-fi.
“I am just happy and feel like I was able to make my movie, work on my film that takes place within its own world, and not be affected by whatever other people are doing,” Wan says. As the final official entry in the DCEU before it reboots into the DC Universe, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a swansong for a cinematic franchise that has weathered its ups and downs but has captivated and inspired audiences all the same.
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Meanwhile, Momoa could pop up in the new DCU in a different guise. He calls Lobo, the DC character he originally thought he was being eyed to play, “the perfect role”. Whether or not that happens, it’s safe to say that Momoa has left his mark on the Aquaman character and ensured that pop culture will remember him as more than just the guy in orange and green tights who talks to fish.
Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father's death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all.
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