Aquaman will bring two of Atlantis’ biggest villains to life - King Orm and Black Manta - but only one will be the main villain of the DCEU film. Much of DC’s future in theaters is up in the air, even without considering AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner this week. Countless films are rumored or in development with little to no actual information about what fans can expect, but starting later this year a trio of movies will continue the evolution of the DCEU.

After several release date changes, Aquaman will finally arrive in theaters this December and dive deeper into the backstory of Arthur Curry. Though fans got a taste of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in Justice League, the solo film will allow director James Wan and company to fully immerse audiences in an alien world underneath the seas full of new heroes, villains, and monsters. Thanks to EW’s cover story on the film, we already have our first look at Black Manta, one of Aquaman’s oldest foes in the comics. But the mercenary won’t be the big bad our hero will face in the film.

EW spoke to James Wan about the reveal of Black Manta, and the director teased a little bit about the character. And while he wouldn’t discuss his place in the plot too much, he did confirm the villain won’t be the primary antagonist in Aquaman.

Though Wan doesn’t state it himself, EW refers to Aquaman’s brother as King Orm. In the comics, the half-brother of Arthur Cury frequently vies for the throne - and occasionally sits on it - but this seems to confirm that he’ll spend part of the film as the ruler of Atlantis. Likely, it will be the arrival of Aquaman that throws Orm’s claim into question, as Arthur is the oldest child and rightful heir to the throne. From there, we’ll probably see Orm will become Ocean Master, the comic book villain who regularly opposes Aquaman.

Black Manta is a really interesting character who is somehow factored into this story but our main story is about Jason [Momoa] and Patrick [Wilson’s King Orm].

We’ve heard before that Orm is the key villain of Aquaman, but things have changed a lot since then in the DCEU. Luckily, Aquaman looks to set the DCEU on the right path after some misfires along the way. Of course, audiences will still want to judge for themselves when the first trailer finally arrives.

Those who attended CineEurope saw the first Aquaman trailer for themselves, and it’s said to arrive online and in theaters very soon. Warner Bros. and DC have been cutting it quite close with the start of marketing for the film, an issue Solo: A Star Wars Story also had. Given how that film underperformed, that may not bode well for Aquaman. Whatever the end result is, however, we won’t have to wait much longer to see Wan’s vision brought to life when Aquaman hits theaters in a few months.

MORE: The DCEU is Finally Generating Good Post-Justice League Buzz

Source: EW

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