There isn’t a lot of information on the DCEU’s impending Aquaman movie. But of the information available, most of the significant members of the cast are known. These include heavy hitters like Mera, Black Manta, and Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master. The full extent of their roles is unknown. However, the film’s director, James Wan, recently took to Twitter and confirmed that Wilson’s scenes wrapped shooting.
https://twitter.com/creepypuppet/status/918853131366100992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbr.com%2Fpatrick-wilson-wraps-aquaman%2F
This brings up a number of questions. For example, if Ocean Master is the primary villain of the film, then to what extent is Black Manta in the movie? He’s arguably the most recognizable of Aquaman’s foes. Is he getting shoved to the side in favor of the “bigger” villain? That would be rather disappointing. Though it’s still up in the air whether Ocean Master even is the main villain, or not.
Plenty of other questions exist, of course. The film is being hyped up as a “swashbuckling adventure.” With that description in mind, and taken into account what’s been seen of Aquaman in the Justice League trailers, this leads to a few ideas. For starters, it more or less locks in that Aquaman is going to be akin to the DCEU’s Thor. They’ll be far more focused on fun, in the long run, than on anything especially weighty. Of course, it’s arguably further supported by the royal status shared by both characters and the joke reputation both characters had to the general public. With Thor: Ragnarok poised to be something of an 80-style action adventure, one can see how Aquaman is headed in very much the same direction.
In fact, the film has been suggested as a being inspired by 80s quest movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark. This only adds more questions. If the movie is a quest, what is the object? What will Ocean Master or Black Manta be trying to acquire that Aquaman can’t let him have? Considering that Aquaman has his trident in all of the Justice League trailers, it can’t be that. At least not unless the film is a prequel akin to Wonder Woman. Atlantis has no shortage of McGuffins to go hunting for. The ocean is a vast and mysterious place.
Aquaman arrives in theaters on December 21, 2018.