Filming has officially begun on Aquaman. Jason Momoa made a quick debut as Arthur Curry in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and is poised to have a much larger role this fall in Justice League. With the Justice League trailers depicting him as a possible breakout star within the DC Extended Universe, the December 2018 release for Aquaman can't get here soon enough for many. For director James Wan, it will mark his biggest film to date and one that will try to further change the perception that Aquaman is more joke than hero.
In order to do this, Warner Bros. and DC have changed up his look and in doing so have done the same for the look of Mera (Amber Heard) and presumably the rest of Atlantis. Aquaman will open up the underwater world of the DCEU and it now moves one step closer to becoming a reality with Wan announcing the start of production.
Wan made the announcement on Twitter, posting a photo from the set in Australia where he, the cast, and crew have traveled to for the majority of production. His announcement comes with a picture of the clapper highlighting the film's working title of Ahab with a rather clever design. Other than that, the rest of the photo shows the inside of a submarine, possibly indicating some more Earth-related scenes to start.
Months of intensive prep have led to this. Here we go. #DayOne #Ahab pic.twitter.com/Ryhl3NUtRY— James Wan (@creepypuppet) May 3, 2017
The start of production is hardly surprising to anyone who has been following the pre-production news. It was reported before that production would begin in May and reiterated yesterday with reports that filming begins this week. In addition to that, the likes of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Black Manta) and Temuera Morrison have been prepping for their roles, including arriving in Australia early.
While there are previous examples in the DCEU of troubled productions, Aquaman does not fit into that category. Ever since Wan's addition, it has been smooth sailing. The cast has filled out without a major hiccup and has a nice balance of established Hollywood stars and those that could breakout through this film.
In addition to not only featuring a rather smooth pre-production, Aquaman could also differ from previous DCEU installments by not being very connected to the rest of the universe. This could all be contingent on Justice League of course, if it heavily sets up the events that will unfold in Momoa's solo film. However, with a vast world to explore it is more likely that Aquaman is a true standalone picture and lets Wan and Momoa not only set the tone of the character, but this entire corner of the DCEU.
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Source: James Wan
