James Wan’s ‘Aquaman’ Looks To Build A New World In The DC Universe [CinemaCon]

LAS VEGAS –  When James Wan told the audience at CinemaCon that Warner Bros. made him show a sneak peek at his highly anticipated next effort, “Aquaman,” it prompted a light-hearted laugh from the crowd.  But if you were paying close enough attention it was clear Wan wasn’t really kidding.  And after watching the somewhat impressive preview you understood why.  It truly was a work in progress.

The most polished scenes were the ones that featured our hero, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) aka Aquaman, on land or above sea (basically out of the water).  In one slick sequence he fights the crew of a naval submarine easily knocking them out one by one.  There was also a shot of Arthur pushing the same submarine to the surface (or so we’d believe), that was imaginative.  Almost everything else was unfinished in one form or another.

Willem Dafoe talks “The Florida Project” and “Aquaman” [Interview]

For example, the submerged city of Atlantis is wonderfully designed and the “aerial” view evoked the world building of Wakanda in “Black Panther.”  The shots we saw were not finished, however.

Black Mantis’ costume is…large and very round.  It might even be more functional in design than fans would hope for.  There were also seemingly no shots of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Aquaman’s longtime adversary, without his Manta helmet on.

Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), aka Ocean Master, narrates much of the preview as he tells his half-brother to return to land, that he doesn’t belong there and, eventually, he plans to conquer the surface dwellers.  One shot has them facing off in a round room with an unexpectedly modern orange and yellow design.  Are they supposed to be underwater or not?  You can’t tell.  In fact, many of the shots underwater seemed unfinished as the hairs on an actor don’t flow just quite perfectly enough under water or they don’t seem like they are really underwater at all.

There were incredible animatics of an army Ocean Master has formed that blew through whatever resistance was in their way.  Again, these shots were not finished, but the were effectively grand and complex in this stage.

There were shots of Nuidis Vulko (Willem Dafoe) counseling Arthur.  There were shots of a young Arthur learning how to use his abilities in the sea (he also appears blonde as a kid in a nod to the hero’s original appearance).  But beyond that it was a ton of animatics which is fine for a film opening in a little less than eight months from now.  Most importantly, it conveyed a vision different than Zack Snyder‘s and had hints of Wan’s own visual style.  And that’s probably the vibe the press and theater owners on hand needed to come away with. Especially after the disastrous reception to “Justice League” this past November.

So, we’d love to tell you more about what “Aquaman” looks like but it’s clear Wan is still building.

Wait, what about the fact Wilson, Amber Heard and Abdul-Mateen II were also on hand?  And that Heard teased her character, Mera, saves Arthur more than he saves her (not that we’re being competitive or anything).  Well, it was worth a try.

As for the rest of Warner Bros.’ CinemaCon presentation it was the parade of stars the Burbank institution is known for. Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner and Dan Fogler showed more footage from “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,”   “Ocean’s 8”  brought forth Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway (she took her heels off on stage), Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kailing and Awkwafina.  Melissa McCarthy promoted “Life of the Party.”  Channing Tatum, Zendaya and Common were on hand to hype the animated “Smallfoot.”  Blachett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Rhys and director Andy Serkis showed the dark side of “The Jungle Book” with the gorgeous “Mowgli.”  Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina and director John Chu reminded theater owners that “Crazy Rich Asians” is the big hit they aren’t paying attention to.  And Jeremy Renner (not in “Infinity War,” but alive!), Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Isla Fisher, Leslie Bibb, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis and Hannibal Buress tried to get the audience into “Tag.”

You can get a sense of the star power on hand with the video from the group photo below.

All the stars of Warner Bros 2018 CinemaCon Presentation pic.twitter.com/tybpuGyNhl

— Gregory Ellwood – VOTE – The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) April 25, 2018

 

Look for more reactions from CinemaCon all this week on The Playlist.