Much of Aquaman's success is owed to the film's slew of memorable characters and performances, including Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry, Patrick Wilson's King Orm, and Yayha Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta. The latter antagonist had been announced to be returning for the upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, though it remained to be seen how the marine marvel's greatest rival would look onscreen. Now, James Wan has taken to social media to showcase Black Manta's updated outfit.
Momoa's Aquaman had been featured in the DCEU's Justice League a year before the solo film's release, though that movie underperformed critically and commercially, causing some associated projects to be delayed (if not postponed indefinitely) and throwing the state of the interconnected DCEU into question. Luckily, Aquaman was a smash hit despite the franchise's well-known woes, grossing $335 million domestically and totaling over a billion dollars worldwide. Since then, many DC-inspired projects such as Joker, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad have been trickling into theaters, with the Aquaman sequel fitting comfortably into DC's exciting future slate that already includes films like The Batman and The Flash.
Wan shared multiple images on Instagram that showed off Black Manta's new costume. While the previous film's Black Manta outfit was marked by a black helmet and suit, this new costume implements the trademark metallic silver color of both classic and new iterations of the comic character. The images also tease story information, with Black Manta holding a black trident and two goons standing behind him in one of the images. Black Manta will not be the only character to be given an altered look, as Aquaman and King Orm also have different designs.
In addition to Momoa, Wilson, and Abdul-Mateen II, Aquaman 2 stars many performers from the first film's cast, including Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Temuera Morrison, and Dolph Lundgren. A slew of newcomers such as Indya Moore and Pilou Asbæk will also join the ensemble. The sequel is made with a screenplay by The Conjuring 2 screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who also wrote the script of the first film. In the meantime for fans of the marine marvel, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, an HBO Max animated series, was made available to stream on the service.
The first Aquaman film is one of the most successful blockbuster films of the past five years and stands as one of the most well-received DCEU films, both critically and commercially. In fact, it currently ranks as the highest-grossing film based on a DC property of all time.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is looking more and more exciting for DC fans as its release draws nearer, with the innovations in its characters' designs certainly playing a factor. Time will tell if the sequel lives up to its predecessor, but fans will likely be pleased with it if the first film's success is anything to go by.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases on December 16th, 2022.
Source: James Wan/Instagram