Warning: Minor SPOILERS for Aquaman
Fans may have expected the Aquaman movie to be a fresh start for the hero, and erase the lingering hints of Justice League… but one major Easter Egg connected to Zack Snyder’s film remains.
By now most comic book movie enthusiasts will have heard about just how much Aquaman’s story changed in Justice League, once Snyder stepped aside, and Joss Whedon’s extensive reshoots began. Aquaman may have seen much of his Atlantean story erased to leave it for a solo movie, including how Justice League’s ending set up Aquaman. But the plan to make this new solo movie completely separate is denied by one tiny detail. A literal memento of the Justice League movie’s story - or, perhaps, Snyder’s version of it.
The Easter Egg can be found in the opening prologue of Aquaman, in which Arthur’s mother and father meet, fall in love, and raise him until the party is crashed by Atlantean soldiers. It’s unclear how much of Atlantis Queen Atlanna chose to share with Tom Curry, but she has apparently created a substitute version of the city’s most important artifact: what looks to be a jewelry box, adorned with sea shells to create a rough replica of the Mother Box of Atlantis.
Until Steppenwolf stole it back, of course. Although that was still years away from happening when Queen Atlanna decided to recreate an artifact of her underwater home inside of her new one. Arthur’s mother’s Mother Box can be seen on the table beside their couch, as one of the few remaining links between Zack Snyder and James Wan’s vision for Aquaman’s two-film journey. But more importantly, it raises an important question. If Atlanna regales both Arthur and Tom with the legend of King Atlan’s trident, could she have done the same for the legend of Earth’s war against Steppenwolf?
In hindsight, Bruce Wayne should have spent his time seeking out Tom Curry’s knowledge of the coming war in Justice League, instead of Arthur’s.
MORE: Jason Momoa Won’t Let WB Distance Snyder From Aquaman
- Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21
