At long last, Warner Bros. finally unveiled Aquaman to the public at Comic-Con on Saturday by way of the film’s first trailer. Since there’s a lot to unpack here, we went through and pulled a bevy of screengrabs to offer a much closer look at the new DC film. Director James Wan faced the daunting task of bringing the underwater world to vivid life in a way that didn’t come off as silly, and it appears that he’s mostly succeeded. While Wan’s filmography of Saw, The Conjuring, and Furious 7 wouldn’t immediately lead you to believe he’s the best person to tackle a daunting comic book adaptation like Aquaman, the guy’s background shows he clearly enjoys (and succeeds in) creating lush worlds, and Aquaman is no exception.
The production design of the underwater stuff is particularly compelling, and I look forward to the behind-the-scenes featurettes that show just how much of those sets were practical versus a green screen. It’s a testament to Wan’s talent and the folks working on the film that I have a hard time telling which is which in a lot of these images. The character designs are also full of color and life, and it must be said this looks very different from the gritty and grimy palatte of Zack Snyder’s previous DC movies.
It remains to be seen if audiences at large will be taken by Aquaman, but for now this trailer and the following bevy of images offer a tantalizing tease for fans familiar enough with the source material.
Peruse the images below and click for high-resolution. The film stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master, and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna. Aquaman opens in theaters on December 21st.
For even more on Aquaman, check out coverage from our set visit in the links below.
- ‘Aquaman’: 50 Things to Know about James Wan’s Ambitious Spin on a Superhero Movie
- ‘Aquaman’s Amber Heard on How Zack Snyder Pitched Her the Role, Defying Convention, and More
- ‘Aquaman': James Wan on Setting up the World and Tone of the DC Film
- Jason Momoa on How ‘Aquaman’ “Will Be Like ‘Star Wars’ Underwater”
- ‘Aquaman': Yahya Abdul-Mateen II on Why Black Manta Is After Aquaman and Working with Geoff Johns