DC has been chugging along with their Cinematic Universe, and the Aquaman man is almost up at bat.
Aquaman is the aptly named underwater hero of the DC universe and he’s also the King of Atlantis. He was introduced in Batman v. Superman and has his own solo film planned for 2018 with director James Wan. Now, Aquaman’s arch-nemesis Black Manta has been cast in the upcoming movie. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, hot off Netflix’s The Get Down, will be dawning the Blank Manta helmet.
Mateen and DC are currently in the negotiating process, but everything seems to be in the green and Mateen just wrapped on the Baywatch reboot film. Very early reports of Aquaman suggested another villain, Ocean Master would have been the antagonist of the movie but that was either false or has been reworked per DC’s course correction.
Black Manta himself has had several origin stories throughout comic history since he debuted in 1967. One origin states him has a tortured boy captured and abused by sailors, vowing revenge on all of what the ocean represents when he got older. Another origin has him as an autistic orphan in Arkham Asylum. No matter the origin, Black Manta always ends up in his signature combat armor. The armor provides him super strength, speed and the ability to breathe underwater. Also, it comes with lasers.
The DC Cinematic Universe has been struggling. Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad all did well at the box office but were less than desirable critically. Fans desperately hope Wonder Woman and Aquaman are well received. James Wan, the director of Insidious, The Conjuring and Furious 7 is taking the reigns of Aquaman and promises to mix horror with action. The terrifying creatures of the deep will be showcased as well as the action Black Manta will bring.
