Whether you are aware or not, the ship for Aquaman’s first solo film has already set sail as it prepares for the choppy waters of production. The long-awaited comic book adaptation will be something of a test for Warner Bros and could change the tide, negatively or positively, for the entire future of the DC Extended Universe.

Aquaman director James Wan (The Conjuring) has been busy working on pre-production for his upcoming film while giving updates to his fans including scouting locations, his vision for the character, and the tone that he’s attempting to capture. With each update, the scope of the movie seems to expand in new and creative ways, while serving as a constant reminder that the Aquaman movie will soon be a reality.

We now have another bit of tantalizing news, via Production Weekly, regarding the pending production of Aquaman. The publication revealed, in its December 1st edition, that the working title for the upcoming DC Film is “Ahab”.

Films, particularly tent pole movies, often have alternate working titles to avoid unwanted extra publicity. It’s a practice that first gained notoriety in the early 1980s with the production of Return of the Jedi, which was given the working title of Blue Harvest to throw fans, and press, off of the film’s scent. However, that was well before the age of the internet sleuthing.

“Ahab” would seem to be an allusion to Captain Ahab, from the Moby Dick novel. Ahab is one of the most famous fictional sea captains in literary history. The tragic sailor developed an unhealthy, and ultimately suicidal, obsession with capturing the monstrous white whale, Moby Dick. The story tracks Ahab’s deterioration from his doomed mission, which resulted in the loss of a leg and more. It’s possible that “Ahab” is a direct allusion to Aquaman and his own personal mission that will fuel his own motivations in his solo film. Additionally, in the comics Aquaman has lost a limb during his adventures at sea as well; while it’s not clear if that will happen in the film, it’s an intriguing possibility to ponder.

There is still a lot unknown about the actual plot and cast of Aquaman. Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and William Dafoe, have already been cast as Arthur Curry, Mera, and Vulko, respectively. However, while Wan has professed that the movie will have a “swashbuckling” feel of adventure, the actual story and film’s villain is still publicly up in the air. Particularly with a working title like “Ahab”, it would seem that there would be a threat or force - Black Manta would be a good fit - that would send Aquaman on an equally obsessive and vengeful mission. Hopefully, the working title is a signal that we’ll be getting another worthy villain to add to the DCEU and a sign that production on the movie may be closer than we’re currently anticipating.

Source: Production Weekly

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