Arthur Curry, also known by his superhero moniker Aquaman, is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. He is portrayed by American actor Jason Momoa. Originally appearing as a cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Curry had a prominent role in the film Justice League and its director's cut, and is later the subject of his own film Aquaman. Momoa also cameoed in the first season finale of the HBO Max series Peacemaker and the film The Flash. The DCEU marks Aquaman's first portrayal in cinema, with his character having been re-imagined as compared to his comics counterpart.
Development and portrayal
Aquaman's portrayal in popular culture and early film attempts
First appearing in 1941 in DC Comics storylines, Aquaman was adapted to television with cartoons such as The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and Super Friends. He would also be adapted to films in the DC Animated Universe and was mentioned or briefly portrayed in live-action television such as Smallville, and a television pilot based on the character was produced by The CW with Justin Hartley playing Arthur "A.C." Curry/Aquaman. However, Aquaman has also been mentioned numerous times in the media as the butt of jokes due to his campy portrayal on certain media, with shows such as The Big Bang Theory, South Park, and Robot Chicken ridiculing or parodying his character.
Attempts to bring Aquaman to the big screen began in the 2000s. In 2004, FilmJerk.com reported that Sunrise Entertainment's Alan and Peter Riche planned to bring Aquaman to the big screen for Warner Bros., with Robert Ben Garant writing the screenplay. However, the attempt fell through. In 2007, Santiago Cabrera was cast as Aquaman in a Justice League film called Justice League: Mortal. That movie was also shelved later in the year. Years later, it was reported that an Aquaman film was in development at Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions, though that film also was never created.
Casting and execution
Actor Jason Momoa was cast as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe after the success of Man of Steel, with Geoff Johns telling Variety that Aquaman was a priority character for the studio once the DCEU was greenlit. Momoa says of his portrayal of the character, the first in cinema: "It's nice not being the seventh Batman. It's nice to be the first one. And good luck being the next one." Momoa also notes similarities between his character and himself, such as "feeling a connection to water" with his paternal Native Hawaiian ancestry, being raised by a single parent, and living in two drastically different locations in his youth, namely Hawaii and Iowa. He claims the role is "definitely the closest thing I’ve ever played to myself."
For the films, Momoa and other actors and stunt doubles had to learn to fight with a trident. They were also attached to harnesses during filming to simulate fighting under-water. Specifically for Aquaman, several special effects studios, such as Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Method Studios, Scanline VFX, Digital Domain and others were employed to render Arthur's underwater and fighting scenes and hair movement in water, with the effects visible in scenes such as Orm and Arthur's first duel, Arthur and Mera's fight against Black Manta, and Arthur and Mera's visit to the Trench. A specially designed 700fps shot was used in the scene where the camera travels through Arthur's eyes.
In Aquaman, a younger Arthur Curry is portrayed by various actors, including an uncredited infant, Tainu and Tamor Kirkwood at age 3, Kaan Guldur at age 9, Otis Dhanji at age 13, and Kekoa Kekumano at age 16.
Characterization and themes
Unlike traditional comic book portrayals of Aquaman, the DCEU iteration of the character has a drastically different appearance, including being covered in tattoos and carrying a gruff demeanor. Miles Surrey of The Ringer describes Aquaman's portrayal in the films as a "natural extension of the larger-than-life man portraying him, Jason Momoa, who once auditioned for his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones by doing the Haka." Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent notes that Aquaman, once the butt of many jokes due to his "garish orange and green attire, bleached blonde hair, and friendly relationship with the sea critters" in the comics and Super Friends, has been re-imagined as a muscled, trident-wielding hero. She says of Momoa: "The actor is the complete opposite of the Aquaman we know. This Aquaman is cool."