'Aquaman' makes a big splash at Comic-Con's Hall H
Based on the latest Justice League trailer, it sure looks like Aquaman could be the scene-stealing breakout – and the good news is that his newfound fans won't have to wait too much longer to see him fly solo. Swim solo, rather.
At Comic-Con today, Warner Bros. shared a little sneak peek at the first footage from Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and directed by James Wan. And it looks... pretty cool, actually.
The scene opens on a sleepy, little fishing trip. Two old men are in a tiny little boat, lazily throwing their lines into the water. Then one of them catches something – something so big that it drags the entire boat with it. Eventually, the man lets go of his pole rather than get dragged into the water. He peers down into the ocean and gasps at what we see.
And so do we. The camera plunges underwater to reveal an entire fleet of manta ray-like ships, and shark-shaped watercrafts with people on them.
While the clip doesn't make clear whose ships they are, Momoa was more than happy to serve up that information later in the panel.
"You know what, I'm used to getting in trouble, so I'm gonna tell you," he told an audience member during the Q&A. "That's Ocean Master's army. Black Manta ain't got nothing like that, that's my brother. I'm fighting my brother." (For the uninitiated, Ocean Master, played by Patrick Wilson, is slated to be the big bad in this movie.)
Aquaman himself doesn't appear in the footage of Ocean Manta's fleet, but the footage cut to a quick look at him in what appeared to be a sunken ship. "I don't suppose you want to talk about this, do you?" he asks. "Neither do I."
As for what he looks like – well, he looks basically like Jason Momoa with dripping wet hair. Which is to say he looks pretty rad.
In a video message from the Australia set, director James Wan explained that Aquaman would be an origin story of sorts. "I wanted the audience to experience Atlantis the first time Aquaman experiences it as well," he said. "This is epic storytelling, fun, adventures, romance, on the biggest canvas imaginable."
As for what Aquaman's like, perhaps Momoa's comments on his role in Justice League will offer some clues.
"Aquaman's not really accepted on land or on sea, so I guess he's hurt. He's sensitive. He covers it up. He's a big onion, and we're just slowly peeling it away. But inside, he's a big teddy bear," teased Momoa. "He comes through and he ends up joining the League, and it's the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He's loved and wanted."
Well, count us among those who love and want to see more of Momoa's Aquaman. Justice League arrives November 17, followed by Aquaman on December 21, 2018.
