How would you "make" an Aquaman film?

[Nightwing 52]

What would your plot be? Who would you choose to direct? What characters/villains would you use? An most importantly, who would you like to see portray Aquaman?

 

["Iron Man"]

Well...I don't know.

But I do know that I have no *****ing idea of what Aquaman can do or what his origin is.

Can somebody please explain the character of Aquaman to me? He seems VERY interesting...

 

[The Question]

Like I've said, it should be Robin Hood meets King Aurthur, but under water. The throne of Atlantis is ussurped by a revolutionairy faction. The queen is imprisoned, the royal advisor is banished, and the young prince Orin is left to die in the ocean's wilderness. This is for three reasons. One, the most obviosu one, is that he is the heir to the throne, and they don't want him leading a second revolution when he grows up. Two, he was born a mutant telepath, and super powered beings are generally met with much fear and distrust in Atlantis. Third, he was born with blond hair, which has long been considered to be a bad omen in Atlantis.

While he was expected to die, Orin lives, through a combination of natural instinct, his telepathic abilities, and sheer dumb luck. Because of his telepathy, he can comunicate with local predetors and urge them to leave him be. As he grows, he swims closer to the surface, he meets and is taken in by a pod of dolphins. As he swims closer and closer to the surface, the lessening of the pressure of the ocean's deapths grants him great strength and speed, enabling him to protect his pod from predetors easily. As Orin reaches his teenage years, he comes across a lighthouse keeper and fisherman named Aurthur Curry, who begins to look after him and teaches him english, becoming a sort of father figure. When Aurthur dies, Orin exiles himself once again, heading back into the sea.

Eventually, he finds his way back to Atlantis. There, he meets Vulko, who had been his mother's advisor and had gone into exile years earlier. Vulko tells Orin of his heratige and his destiny to reclaim the throne of Atlantis from the hands of the now corrupt government. Orin brinsg together a band of outlaws and exiles, and begins his quest to reclaim his throne. He eventually meets with and defeats the current dictator of Atlantis is a big, climactic fight scene where Orin's rebelion storms the castle. It ends with Orin's corination.

 

[Mr. Vice]

I wouldn't make one. Period.

 

[deathshead2]

I would sort of go with a S:tas plot. I would make him more of a legend such as tales of ships sinking and being destroyed that tried dumping chemicals and stuff. And have the company thats dumping them be none other then black manta who owns a major company. And decides to stop this once and for all. And sabatoges a ship and knocks out aquaman and brings him back to his company to study him. A group of humans (they don;t know aquaman theres) decides to try to destroy the company because they know they are destroying the environment. Sneaks inside and starts placing bombs a t chemical vats. And the leader of the group. Sneaks insides a area and finds aquaman and breaks him free and they take him away to later strike at the company again. To make a long story short an epic battle happens at the end under water between black manta and aquaman as a secert plot is found out that black manta was really working for someone at a higher power so that the higher power could get aquaman the king of atlantus away long enough to take it over.

 

[The Question]

Black Manta as a corperate CEO? No way. Black Manta as a dangerously psychotic pirate a drug baron. He should be in the sequel as a villain.

 

[deathshead2]

Black Manta as a corperate CEO? No way. Black Manta as a dangerously psychotic pirate a drug baron. He should be in the sequel as a villain.

But I thought it was cool he would still have the armor. At least I thought it was cool.

 

[The Question]

It's just, for me, Manta's apeal has always been that he's one of the most dangerously psychotic characters in the DCU. Started out as a kid growing up in a crappy orphanige with low level autism. The people taking care of him didn't know how to properly deal with him, so they were basically torturing him without realizing him. Doctors tried to treat his disability, but this was back in the 70s, so all the "treatment" was was a coctail of powerful mental stimulants. Boosted his inteligence and made him more lucid, but amplified all of his other problems several times over, pushing him from pissed of autistic kid to full blown psychotic. Became a drug dealer as a source of income, eventually purchasing a boat to get away from society, and became an international drug lord and pirate. Became an enemy of Aquaman when he tried to loot Atlantis, and then tried to take over Atlantis and turn it;s people into his slaves.

 

[deathshead2]

It's just, for me, Manta's apeal has always been that he's one of the most dangerously psychotic characters in the DCU. Started out as a kid growing up in a crappy orphanige with low level autism. The people taking care of him didn't know how to properly deal with him, so they were basically torturing him without realizing him. Doctors tried to treat his disability, but this was back in the 70s, so all the "treatment" was was a coctail of powerful mental stimulants. Boosted his inteligence and made him more lucid, but amplified all of his other problems several times over, pushing him from pissed of autistic kid to full blown psychotic. Became a drug dealer as a source of income, eventually purchasing a boat to get away from society, and became an international drug lord and pirate. Became an enemy of Aquaman when he tried to loot Atlantis, and then tried to take over Atlantis and turn it;s people into his slaves.

Hey I can always change it to pirate stuff.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Like I've said, it should be Robin Hood meets King Aurthur, but under water. The throne of Atlantis is ussurped by a revolutionairy faction. The queen is imprisoned, the royal advisor is banished, and the young prince Orin is left to die in the ocean's wilderness. This is for three reasons. One, the most obviosu one, is that he is the heir to the throne, and they don't want him leading a second revolution when he grows up. Two, he was born a mutant telepath, and super powered beings are generally met with much fear and distrust in Atlantis. Third, he was born with blond hair, which has long been considered to be a bad omen in Atlantis.

While he was expected to die, Orin lives, through a combination of natural instinct, his telepathic abilities, and sheer dumb luck. Because of his telepathy, he can comunicate with local predetors and urge them to leave him be. As he grows, he swims closer to the surface, he meets and is taken in by a pod of dolphins. As he swims closer and closer to the surface, the lessening of the pressure of the ocean's deapths grants him great strength and speed, enabling him to protect his pod from predetors easily. As Orin reaches his teenage years, he comes across a lighthouse keeper and fisherman named Aurthur Curry, who begins to look after him and teaches him english, becoming a sort of father figure. When Aurthur dies, Orin exiles himself once again, heading back into the sea.

Eventually, he finds his way back to Atlantis. There, he meets Vulko, who had been his mother's advisor and had gone into exile years earlier. Vulko tells Orin of his heratige and his destiny to reclaim the throne of Atlantis from the hands of the now corrupt government. Orin brinsg together a band of outlaws and exiles, and begins his quest to reclaim his throne. He eventually meets with and defeats the current dictator of Atlantis is a big, climactic fight scene where Orin's rebelion storms the castle. It ends with Orin's corination.

I would go with this plot. Also add in Ocean Master

 

[COME ON !]

I would get James Cameron to direct it and Vinny Chase to star in it. Oh, and Mandy Moore too as Aquaman's girlfriend.

 

[That-Guy]

I like Aquaman, but there are some problems with his character that might be able to be ignored in comic books, but in a movie set in the real world, they'd become painfully obvious. The first thing is the whole, "fishing is murder" angle. If Aquaman can telepathically communicate with any sea creature, then he's going to have quite a problem with fishermen and he'll constantly be raiding fishing vessels. The trouble with that is, there are a LOT of places in the world that depend on seafood as their primary food source or top delicacy. Hell, he'd have to smite Baltmore off the face of the earth. So, you'd essentially have Aquaman being called a terrorist of sorts. Then, there's the whole factor of the dialogue occuring underwater. Even if amphibious people actually existed, they would be able to understand each other's speech underwater. And if the simply communicated telepathically, I think audiences would be turned off my watching a bunch of people stare at each other and listen to their thoughts.

 

[The Question]

I would go with this plot. Also add in Ocean Master

Well, I guess Orin could discover his half brother, Orm, during his travels. Orm then joins Orin's resistence. He then goes on to become a villain in the sequel.

I like Aquaman, but there are some problems with his character that might be able to be ignored in comic books, but in a movie set in the real world, they'd become painfully obvious. The first thing is the whole, "fishing is murder" angle. If Aquaman can telepathically communicate with any sea creature, then he's going to have quite a problem with fishermen and he'll constantly be raiding fishing vessels. The trouble with that is, there are a LOT of places in the world that depend on seafood as their primary food source or top delicacy. Hell, he'd have to smite Baltmore off the face of the earth. So, you'd essentially have Aquaman being called a terrorist of sorts. Then, there's the whole factor of the dialogue occuring underwater. Even if amphibious people actually existed, they would be able to understand each other's speech underwater. And if the simply communicated telepathically, I think audiences would be turned off my watching a bunch of people stare at each other and listen to their thoughts.

Aquaman is the only Atlantian with telepathy. He's a mutant. As for the terrorist thing, Aquaman doesn't go after all kinds of fishing. Hell, he probably eats fish himself, being an evolutionary ofshoot of an omnivore. The more inteligent speicese, like dolphins and whales, are usually the ones he concentraits on. Also, he doesn't hate fishing so much as fishing that disrespects nature. Like, fishing simply for trophies, or fishing when you don't need to fish to survive. That's the stuff that bothers him. And he's made a point of it in the comics. He nearly declaired war with Japan once when a group of Japanese fishermen killed a pod of dolphins.

 

[The Guard]

Arthur's environmentalism makes perfect sense, really. And would make a great exploration point for a sequel, and provide some great conflict. The origin would have to be a kind of King Arthur meets Gladiator story, though, and be about a Civil War in Atlantis, with Curry, Mera, Vulko, Orm, etc.

 

[That-Guy]

Aquaman is the only Atlantian with telepathy. He's a mutant. As for the terrorist thing, Aquaman doesn't go after all kinds of fishing. Hell, he probably eats fish himself, being an evolutionary ofshoot of an omnivore. The more inteligent speicese, like dolphins and whales, are usually the ones he concentraits on. Also, he doesn't hate fishing so much as fishing that disrespects nature. Like, fishing simply for trophies, or fishing when you don't need to fish to survive. That's the stuff that bothers him. And he's made a point of it in the comics. He nearly declaired war with Japan once when a group of Japanese fishermen killed a pod of dolphins.

Thanks for clearing that up. But then, how do the other Atlanteans communicate with the fish? Or don't they? And how do they communicate with each other? Sorry; as you can see, my Aquaman knowledge is very limited.

 

[JackBauer]

I would get James Cameron to direct it and Vinny Chase to star in it. Oh, and Mandy Moore too as Aquaman's girlfriend.

took long enough

 

[The Sage]

I liked some of the setup from the Aquaman pilot but I'd make a bit more like the comic: Orin is born the son of Queen Atlanna and the wizard Atlan, which is why he's able to communicate with sea creatures as well as survive on land longer than any other Atlantean. His mother is banished from Atlantis by a revolutionary faction who wants to go to war with the surface dwellers. Orin is already being banished for being sired by a wizard, as well as having the curse of Koryak. Atlanna meets Tom Curry. They live close to the sea, mainly because Atlanna can't survive long outside of the water. Eventually, Atlanna vanishes, taken back to Atlantis as prisoner. When he reaches his teens, Tom Curry vanishes, possibly killed by Atlanteans looking for Arthur. He returns to the sea, believing that whatever took his father could've also taken his father as well. Arthur meets Vulko, learns about his heritage and his mother. Vulko tells him to take back the throne, but Arthur also has to stop a coming attack by Atlanteans against the surface world. He's conflicted.

Meanwhile, Ocean Master, the other son of Atlan, feels it's his right to be king of the seas and decides to go after Atlantis as well.

So, Arthur ultimately has to take his crown, save the surface world, and deal with his half-brother.

And I'd make this a trilogy. I'm still learning about Aquaman, so bear with me if some of it doesn't sound too faithful.

As for the tone, majestic. Like Question, I do see this as a King Arthur-like tale.

 

[The Question]

Thanks for clearing that up. But then, how do the other Atlanteans communicate with the fish? Or don't they? And how do they communicate with each other? Sorry; as you can see, my Aquaman knowledge is very limited.

The others don't comunicate with fish. Only Aquaman because he's a telepathic mutant. They have their own language. It would, most likely, sound like a series of gurbles and screeches to us, but it makes sense to them.

 

[GL1]

Time to be disagreeable!

1)

An most importantly, who would you like to see portray Aquaman?

This is hardly the most important thing in making a movie good. I've seen great actors in truly unwatchable films (ie Halle Berry). But the fact that you believe this explains why there are so many casting threads and so few plot threads... it's still mindboggling for me to realize that many people agree with this statement.

2) I love Question's plot, it's, well, quintessential Aquaman. I do believe that it lacks (or perhaps simply omits) a suitable villain. I strongly believe that Orm should lead the revolution, keep more with his post crisis origin, and give the story an emotional edge and a villain with some umph, for lack of a better word. And, as you probably would, I'd emphasize the time with Curry and the return to Atlantis, and not spend a lot of actual time with him by himself, but still portray the emotional weight of a lot of time passing with him surviving on his own.

That said...
3) I'd get James Cameron, Question's plot, use Aquaman/Orin/A.C., Mera (strong willed love interest), Vulko (questionable royal advisor), maybe even fill out the revolution with King Shark (clever savage with hints of a heart) and Mupo (overzealous youngster), just for added flavor...

And I'd take as many hints from Troy as Gladiator as far as close combat and savagery go...

 

[The Question]

I think that Orm should be Orin's second in comand in the atempt to retake Atlantis, and then becomes the villain in a possible sequel.

 

[dnno1]

Just remember "Water World" and you'll know what not to do.

 

[Nightwing 52]

This is hardly the most important thing in making a movie good. I've seen great actors in truly unwatchable films (ie Halle Berry). But the fact that you believe this explains why there are so many casting threads and so few plot threads... it's still mindboggling for me to realize that many people agree with this statement.

No. I never said it was important for the film. Reason for asking that question was for this thread. Considering there have been PLENTY of names mentioned in the past, I wanted to see if there were any other choices that haven't. Honestly, for me, casting isn't a priority. If a director thinks he has the right choice for a role, might as well see why he or she was choosen in the first place.

For me, what's important, is capturing the basis of the character(s). And the story that is being produced, from it's original material. Mainly for both comic and non comic fans, to be drawn into the movie.

Oh, and I agree. Question's plot is very quintessential.

 

[Nightwing 52]

They could do a lot of great CGI scenes with Atlantis. Have it begin with Arthur trying to find his place in the surface world as a young man, discovering his origins, then searching for Atlantis. Big finale could be him actually finding it. Perhaps Black Manta could be the villain (who is stalking him based on knowing Arthur's true nature). I'd also like to see Mera in the film as a love interest. Maybe Arthur could meet her after he has begun his search for his homeland. As well as meeting Vulko.

 

[Blue_Beetle]

No. I never said it was important for the film. Reason for asking that question was for this thread. Considering there have been PLENTY of names mentioned in the past, I wanted to see if there were any other choices that haven't. Honestly, for me, casting isn't a priority. If a director thinks he has the right choice for a role, might as well see why he or she was choosen in the first place.

For me, what's important, is capturing the basis of the character(s). And the story that is being produced, from it's original material. Mainly for both comic and non comic fans, to be drawn into the movie.

Oh, and I agree. Question's plot is very quintessential.

^

 

[COME ON !]

took long enough

Yeah, I was surprised