At long last, fans of DC Comics are looking forward to a live-action Justice League film, as the DC Extended Universe is now in full swing. Director Zack Snyder used his Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as a launching pad to introduce moviegoers to the various heroes that will make up the team. Obviously, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman received most of the attention, but some of their allies made appearances as well. After hacking into LexCorp's computer system, Bruce Wayne saw short video files of some more metahumans, including Cyborg, the Flash, and Aquaman - all of whom have solo vehicles on the horizon.
The standalone film for Arthur Curry is arguably the furthest along in development of those three, with James Wan locked in to direct a script by David Johnson and Kurt Johnstad. Bringing the world of Atlantis to life for the big screen poses something of a challenge for the filmmakers, since most of the film will conceivably be set under water, an environment that hasn't truly been showcased at that capacity yet. While working on Justice League, Snyder may have found an interesting way around that potential problem using the advancements of digital technology.
According to Birth. Movies. Death., Snyder is filming Aquaman's Justice League scenes in a completely different manner than he did for Dawn of Justice. For the latter, actor Jason Momoa was placed in a water tank and held his breath, which was serviceable since the character had a minor cameo. With Aquaman factoring more heavily into the plot of Justice League, a more plausible technique is necessary. On the new film, Snyder has set up a rig on a green screen stage, placing Momoa in one arm and the camera in the other. The arms are programmed to move in sync with each other, allowing Momoa to move around while the camera follows him. Nothing's confirmed yet, but it would seem likely that Wan would use this rig for his project as well (considering all goes well with it).
Obviously, this is hardly the only area on Justice League that will incorporate CGI. BMD also says that the movie will primarily be shot on sets, with background replacement utilized in post. The reports makes the comparisons to Snyder's own 300, giving fans an idea of what to expect visually. The possible benefits for this strategy are two fold. For starters, it gives the director more control over the final look of the film (and he does have an eye for jaw-dropping set pieces). In addition, working in the indoor, controlled environment of a sound stage theoretically will limit the amount of leaks that occur during principal photography, as people walking on the streets won't be able to simply snap pictures of the highly anticipated film.
BDM used this latest Justice League update to share a scoop on Willem Dafoe's mystery character. There weren't many details available, but it's said that the actor will be portraying an Atlantean in the film. There's no word on who exactly this is, but it's worth keeping in mind that Dafoe was allegedly playing a "good guy" when he first came on board. From that, it would seem like Dafoe is an ally of Aquaman's, and there is no shortage of characters from the comics that could fit that bill. It will be interesting to see who the talented thespian is in Justice League, and if he'll appear in other DCEU installments.
Justice League has a lot to unpack, and it looks like Snyder plans on giving viewers a substantial look at the world of Atlantis. This would be a smart idea, especially since Aquaman is one of the first DC films that will follow Justice League Part 1. Curry needs to be fleshed out in a way that sells audiences on the idea of him headlining his own movie. The easiest way to accomplish that is to dedicate a decent amount of screen time to what makes the character unique, leaving fans with a desire to see more (similar to Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman). The DCEU filmmakers are passionate about bringing Aquaman into the fold, so hopefully they've crafted something special.
NEXT: Justice League Prologue Revealed?
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is now playing in U.S. theaters. Suicide Squad will arrive on August 5, 2016, followed by Wonder Woman on June 2, 2017; Justice League Part One on November 17, 2017; The Flash on March 16, 2018; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; an untitled DC Film on October 5, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League Part Two on June 14, 2019; an untitled DC film on November 1, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020.
Source: Birth. Movies. Death.