First Aquaman Photo From ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Officially Revealed!
Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder revealed photos of Batman, the Batmobile and Wonder Woman on his Twitter feed, but lately things have been pretty quiet. Many fans were hoping for a first official look at the Batman vs. Superman trailer in theaters with Jupiter Ascending, but that didn't happen. Rumors have it that the trailer itself is ready and just waiting for the right moment to premiere. Could that moment be almost upon us? Snyder returned to Twitter last night, tweeting the first photo of Jason Momoa as Aquaman, along with the new tagline #unitetheseven.
First, here's the new photo from Snyder:
Let's all be honest for a second: that's far cooler than any Aquaman has any right to be. The combination of the classic scaled armor, plus the tribal tattoos and the Aquaman belt...this actually looks great. Momoa, who came very, very close to playing Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, was pretty much born to play a superhero.
Now, as for that tagline. Some have speculated it's referring to the seven seas, but it's more likely it's in reference to the seven members of the upcoming Justice League. We know that Aquaman doesn't have a huge role in Batman vs. Superman (nor does Wonder Woman), but they'll be called upon at the end of the film to come together as a team (hence Dawn of Justice). #unitetheseven likely refers to a call to bring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg and...Green Lantern? Only six members of the cinematic Justice League have been announced so far, but we do know that Warner Bros. has a Green Lantern movie in development, and set for release on June 19, 2020.
Another possibility is that the tagline refers to the “seven relics of Atlantis”. These include the Seal of Clarity, the Atlantean Manacles, The Key, the Atlantean Helm, the Teleportation Globe, the Scepter of the Dead King and Aquaman's Trident of Neptune. These are possessed by members of The Others, but in the comics, Black Manta (the rumored villain of the Aquaman movie), is hunting them down one-by-one to possess all seven relics and untold power. (Sound familiar, Infinity Gauntlet fans?) Perhaps this is hinting at the plot of the upcoming Aquaman spinoff?
Snyder and Momoa have stayed very quiet about Aquaman's appearance in Batman vs. Superman until only recently. But, Snyder has clearly shown an affinity for the character, calling into a Detroit radio station to defend the hero:
You guys were disparaging, a little bit, Aquaman…I don’t want to give anything away about the movie or anything like that but Aquaman has some cool abilities. People are like, “Oh what? Does he talk to animals? Cause that seems like what he does. Or fish?” The cool thing with Aquaman is his Trident. So you have to realize that could cut the flesh of Superman if they came in contact. That’s a thing that’s in the canon. He’s super strong cause of course he can exist at these super deep depths so when he comes up here he’s crazy strong. Anyway, not to say he’s in my movie or anything like that but he has the potential to be bad ass, that’s all I’m saying.
Momoa himself is a big fan and had this to say about the character, specifically the look you see above:
Aquaman is especially cool because being a Kanaka Maoli—being Hawaiian—our Gods are Kanaloa and Maui, and the Earth is 71 percent water, so I get to represent that. And I’m someone who gets to represent all the islanders, not some blond-haired superhero. It’s cool that there’s a brown-skinned superhero.
So, where does this #unitetheseven lead from here? Are there more images, or is this just a nod to Aquaman. Are posters for each of the Justice League characters on the way in advance of the first Batman vs. Superman trailer?
You can get a better look at the new Aquaman photo below.
Batman vs. Superman opens in theaters on March 25, 2016.