Arthur Curry (DC Extended Universe)

First appearing in 1941 in DC Comics storylines, Aquaman was adapted to television with cartoons such as The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and Super Friends. He would also be adapted to films in the DC Animated Universe and was mentioned or briefly portrayed in live-action television such as Smallville, and a television pilot based on the character was produced by The CW with Justin Hartley playing Arthur "A.C." Curry/Aquaman. However, Aquaman has also been mentioned numerous times in the media as the butt of jokes due to his campy portrayal on certain media, with shows such as The Big Bang Theory, South Park, and Robot Chicken ridiculing or parodying his character.[1][2][3]

Attempts to bring Aquaman to the big screen began in the 2000s. In 2004, FilmJerk.com reported that Sunrise Entertainment's Alan and Peter Riche planned to bring Aquaman to the big screen for Warner Bros., with Robert Ben Garant writing the screenplay.[4] However, the attempt fell through. In 2007, Santiago Cabrera was cast as Aquaman in a Justice League film called Justice League: Mortal.[5] That movie was also shelved later in the year.[6] Years later, it was reported that an Aquaman film was in development at Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions, though that film also was never created.[7][8]

Actor Jason Momoa was cast as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe after the success of Man of Steel,[10] with Geoff Johns telling Variety that Aquaman was a priority character for the studio once the DCEU was greenlit.[11] Momoa says of his portrayal of the character, the first in cinema: "It's nice not being the seventh Batman. It's nice to be the first one. And good luck being the next one."[9] Momoa also notes similarities between his character and himself, such as "feeling a connection to water" with his paternal Native Hawaiian ancestry, being raised by a single parent, and living in two drastically different locations in his youth, namely Hawaii and Iowa. He claims the role is "definitely the closest thing I’ve ever played to myself."[12] For the films, Momoa and other actors and stunt doubles had to learn to fight with a trident. They were also attached to harnesses during filming to simulate fighting under-water.[13]

In Aquaman, a younger Arthur Curry is portrayed by various actors, including an uncredited infant, Tainu and Tamor Kirkwood at age 3, Kaan Guldur at age 9, Otis Dhanji at age 13, and Kekoa Kekumano at age 16.[14]

Critics have noted similarities between Jason Momoa and his character, which, as Momoa describes, "is the closest I've come to playing myself".[15]

Unlike traditional comic book portrayals of Aquaman, the DCEU iteration of the character has a drastically different appearance, including being covered in tattoos and carrying a gruff demeanor. Miles Surrey of The Ringer describes Aquaman's portrayal in the films as a "natural extension of the larger-than-life man portraying him, Jason Momoa, who once auditioned for his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones by doing the Haka."[15] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent notes that Aquaman, once the butt of many jokes due to his "garish orange and green attire, bleached blonde hair, and friendly relationship with the sea critters" in the comics and Super Friends, has been re-imagined as a muscled, trident-wielding hero. She says of Momoa: "The actor is the complete opposite of the Aquaman we know. This Aquaman is cool."[9]

As portrayed in the films, Arthur Curry is described as arrogant but good-hearted and self-aware and has also been called an "outsider" and an "outlaw" by the films' creators.[9] Like other superheroes in the DCEU such as Superman/Clark Kent and Batman/Bruce Wayne, Arthur faces self doubt, in part due to feeling alienated from both mankind and the Atlanteans for his half-Atlantean, half-human heritage, but does not suffer a tortured psyche like the other two.[15][16] Arthur hides his insecurities and troubled past behind a tough and intimidating attitude, choosing to alienate himself from others and almost never showing sympathy towards anyone. He is notably reluctant to embrace his potential as a king and join in on heroics, initially declining requests for help from Bruce Wayne and Mera. However, he can be more relaxed and friendly around those he trusts and is close to, such as his father and Mera, and displays what Surrey calls a "bro-y charm".[15] Despite his somewhat gloomy and fearsome exterior, Arthur is ultimately a selfless and compassionate person, indicated by him frequenting an Icelandic fishing village during the winter in order to feed its hungry inhabitants with fish and being careful not to inflict collateral damage on civilians during his battles. He also displays a dry sense of humor and is seen to be a thrill-seeker, and is also rather intelligent and fluent in several languages, similar to Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.

Arthur Curry/Aquaman is first seen through files Bruce Wayne takes from Lex Luthor, including underwater footage of Curry attacking an NSA drone that was following him in the Pacific Ocean. Curry is one of several metahumans that Luthor had been researching in an attempt to blackmail them. Wayne sends this information to fellow metahuman Diana Prince.

Arthur makes a photographic cameo appearance in the film when Bruce Wayne is talking to Amanda Waller during a mid-credits scene.

After the events of Batman v Superman, which sees the death of Superman, Wayne and Diana Prince follow up on their plans to recruit the metahumans named in Luthor's files to form a team of superheroes in Superman's absence, especially after a global threat emerges when Steppenwolf arrives in an attempt to destroy all life on Earth. Bruce attempts to recruit Curry, whom he encounters in a remote Icelandic village. Despite Bruce revealing his secret identity as Batman, Arthur angrily declines Bruce's offer until he notices Steppenwolf's parademons invade his home country of Atlantis. He helps Princess Mera against the demon, though both are subdued as Steppenwolf takes a Mother Box under the Atlanteans' protection. Mera convinces Arthur to go after Steppenwolf after mentioning his mother, whom he believed had abandoned him. After Mera tells him his mother did it to protect him and that she would have gone after Steppenwolf, Arthur, who initially resents the Atlanteans, has a change of heart and asks for an Atlantean suit of armor. He comes to the aid of Wayne's team, which now includes Prince, Barry Allen, and Victor Stone, saving the team from a wall of water after they prevent Steppenwolf from taking a Mother Box guarded by humans under the bay between Metropolis and Gotham City.

Joining the team for good, Arthur expresses skepticism as Batman decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman. Though the team successfully revives him, Superman, having lost his memories, is provoked to briefly attack the group. In the skirmish, Steppenwolf takes the last Mother Box, as it was left unattended. As Superman leaves with Lois Lane to regain his memories, the five other heroes recuperate at the Batcave. As the team resolves to confront Steppenwolf once more without Superman, Arthur gives an impassioned speech, expressing gratitude for meeting the other metahumans and being part of something bigger than himself in the event they die and blurts out his attraction to Wonder Woman, before it is revealed he is sitting on her lasso. Embarrassed, Aquaman tells Flash that he would "meet every piranha [he] knows" if he says a word about his monologue.

Aquaman takes a part in the battle, protecting Cyborg as he attempts to pull apart the Mother Boxes, though the team's plan is foiled by Steppenwolf. Superman arrives, however, allowing the team to defeat the demon, who, overcome with fear, retreats back to Apokolips when his own minions attack him.

Aquaman will appear in Zack Snyder's upcoming director's cut of Justice League.

The film's beginning establishes Arthur's backstory as the son of Thomas Curry, a lighthouse keeper in Maine, and Atlanna, queen of Atlantis. Thomas rescues Atlanna in 1985 and the two fall in love, though Atlanna is soon discovered by Atlantean forces searching for her as she had escaped an arranged marriage. Atlanna entrusts her son Arthur to her trusted advisor Nuidis Vulko for training, leaving him her trident, and voluntarily goes back to Atlantis, where she is sentenced to certain death by banishment to The Trench for Arthur's illegitimate birth. While growing up, Arthur is unable to control his abilities, such as communicating with sea creatures and breathing underwater, and later discovers them while fending off bullies. He is later trained by Vulko, though he rejects Atlantis upon learning of his mother's supposed execution.

In the present day, following Steppenwolf's foiled invasion,[N 1] Arthur begins to engage in more vigilantism, officially gaining the moniker "Aquaman" from the media much to his chagrin. He confronts pirates hijacking a Russian Akula-class submarine. Their leader, Jesse Kane, is killed in a failed attempt to kill Arthur, and his son David vows revenge. Orm Marius, King of Atlantis and Arthur's half-brother, convinces King Nereus of Xebel to help unite Atlantis and attack the surface world for polluting the oceans. Nereus notes that if Orm unites all four kingdoms, he will receive the title of Ocean Master, commander of the most powerful force on the planet.

Mera, who is betrothed to Orm, refuses to help them and tries to recruit Arthur to stop the war. She gains his trust by saving Arthur's father Thomas from a tsunami summoned by Orm. Arthur reluctantly accompanies Mera to a rendezvous with Vulko, who urges Arthur to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact of Atlantis' first ruler, to reclaim his rightful place as king. They are ambushed by Orm's men, and Arthur is captured. He is chained and presented to Orm, who blames him and the surface for Atlanna's death. Orm offers Arthur an opportunity to leave forever, but Arthur challenges him to a duel in a ring of underwater lava. Orm gains the upper hand and nearly kills Arthur before Mera rescues him.

Arthur and Mera journey to the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters hidden under the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, Italy, where they retrieve the trident's coordinates. The two are then attacked by David, who is now armed with Atlantean weapons and armor by Orm and calls himself "Black Manta". Arthur is caught off-guard and injured but manages to defeat David, and Mera destroys a tracking device from Orm disguised as a bracelet gifted to her. As Mera tends to Arthur's wounds, she encourages him to embrace his destiny as king. At their destination, Arthur and Mera fend off amphibious monsters of the Trench, and a wormhole transports them to an uncharted sea at the center of the Earth. They are reunited with Atlanna, who, 20 years earlier, survived her banishment to the Trench and escaped to the uncharted sea, alive and well.

Arthur faces the Karathen, a mythical leviathan and keeper of the trident, and voices his determination to protect both Atlantis and the surface, proving his worth and reclaiming the trident, which grants him control over the seven seas. Orm and his allies lead an army against the crustacean forces of the Kingdom of the Brine to complete Orm's preparations. As Orm declares himself Ocean Master, Arthur, and Mera, with the assistance of Karathen and the Trench, lead an army of marine creatures against him. Orm's followers embrace Arthur as the true king upon learning he wields Atlan's trident. Arthur defeats Orm in combat but spares his life, and Orm accepts his punishment after discovering that Arthur has rescued their mother. Atlanna reunites with Thomas, while Arthur ascends to the throne with Mera by his side.

Jason Momoa is set to reprise his role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in a sequel to Aquaman, having pitched ideas for the sequel.[18] Warner Bros. confirmed via The Hollywood Reporter that the studio has set a release date of December 16, 2022, with pre-production set to begin in 2021.[19]