First Look at Black Manta in AQUAMAN and Jason Mamoa, Nicole Kidman and Amber Heard Grace The Cover of EW
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly we have our first look at Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane a.k.a. Black Manta. As you can see he's working on his suit's helmet, which is straight-out-of-the-comics accurate. If you're familiar with the comics, you know that the helmet blasts red plasma beams from its eyes.
I also included a cover of EW featuring Jason Mamoa as Aquaman, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna and Amber Heard as Princess Mera.
When talking about Black Manta, director James Wan says, “He’s part mercenary but full-time pirate who in his suit will look like some crazy alien from outer space."
Manta is not the main villain in the film. King Orm (Patrick Wilson), Aquaman’s ambitious half-brother who governs Atlantis is. But Manta's story arc is expected to play out through future Aquaman films. Wan adds:
"Black Manta is a really interesting character who is somehow factored into this story but our main story is about Jason and Patrick."
When talking about the film as a whole, and how it's different from the previous DC films, the director said:
"The water world my movie takes place in is so separate and so far apart from previous DC movies it’s like I’m making my own sci-fi fantasy film. This is a whole new underwater world nobody has seen before in live action.
Producer Peter Safran then talked about Jason Momoa in the role of Aquaman, saying:
"Rarely has a superhero character been married to the real-life actor as much as Aquaman and Jason Momoa. He’s authentically from two worlds, he’s this real physical specimen, he’s got this humor which he’s never been allowed to play before — in every regard he is Aquaman."
I didn't like the idea of Momoa in the role of Aquaman initially, but it's kinda grown on me. The movie also stars Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Ludi Lin as Murk, and Michael Beach as Jesse Kane.
Aquaman will center on Aquaman as a reluctant ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis who is caught between land dwellers that are always polluting the globe and his own people who are ready to invade the surface.
Aquaman is set to be released December 21, 2018. Hopefully we get that first trailer soon!