The Aquaman Casting & Discussion Thread

[Webhead2006]

are you guys talking about the justin hartley mercy reef/aquaman show cw didnt pickup when it first startd out. I seen it online when it was leaked out/officially out, i didnt see anything really bad with it, plus it was only a darn pilot a series would have dove into other things.

 

[comicfan4Life]

The hartley pilot was pretty good. It was alot better than I thought it would be. Ironically imo the effects looked a little better than the ones on Smallville. I'd take the pilot over the Smallville aquaman any day of the week. At Least Hartley doesn't talk like brain-dead surfer dude. I kown Alan doesn't write his lines, so it's not his fault, but god I hate the Smallville aquaman.

 

[Webhead2006]

Ya the whole surfer speak is one thing i dont like on him that much, though i like what they did with his powers, and the whole thing if he is out of the water to long thing.

 

[comicfan4Life]

^Yeah, that was cool. It would've been even cooler if he could've swam around clar really fast and made a whirlpool to really get in his head.

 

[tallsy_1]

I think they will play Aquaman light. Given the character's place in pop culture, presenting him too seriously would have the film laughed out of the multiplex by the general audience. Co-opting the history would be IMO a more successful strategy.
Present him like RDJ's Iron Man, an actor who can have fun with the part without being disrespectful.

Also, it's key to have an actor who will not get defensive about the character's perception in promoting the film. Find someone who will roll with the punches but still present a case to spend $10 to see the movie.

 

[BestGirl]

^Ugh, I can already see ignorant members of the press making fun of the film no matter how awesome footage and trailers were.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I dont think the lighthearted treatment of Aquaman is a possibility. Because 1) Adam West and Super Friends was the general preception of Batman for awhile before Burton yet they still went through with a correct adaptation so I dont see why they would adhere so closely to the SF incarnation and 2) because of The Dark Knight most plans for light hearted superhero flick seems null considering John August's Shazam was dropped almost immediately after TDK got big bucks and we are now hearing things about Lobo and Bizarro movies and why Jonah Hex got so much momentum over the more classic characters (among other elements IMO)

 

[Project862006]

yes but batman did not talk to fish

 

[cerealkiller182]

yes but batman did not talk to fish

 

[Project862006]

be honest aqua man is the most comedic relief hero that was not meant for comic relief hell family guy rips on him time and time again.

even entourage does it too

all the GA will know about aqua man is oh that dude who talks to fish ...GAY

that is what they would say

 

[comicfan4Life]

Well there were gay jokes about Batman and Robin, and that was kinda played up in the Batman Forever and Batman & Robin movies during the Joel Schumacher era with the whole Batnips thing. Does that mean in Batman Begins & TDK that Nolan should've kept that direction going and had Bale squeeze Michael Caine on the ass during the movie?

Superman gets joked about for having X-ray vision and various other powers, does that mean Bryan Singer should've had Routh look through a dressing room in Victoria's Secret?

Flash's nick name is the fastest man alive, does that mean his movie should have an embarrassing sex scene?

Wonder Woman + Lesbian Jokes. You see where I'm going with this?

Just because Aquaman was in a stupid cartoon that pretty much got everyone wrong, doesn't mean Aquaman should have to be in a movie where it has to play up the useless member of the JLA, I talk to fish, and my powers suck act. But sadly, that seems to be the case because people just don't get aquaman. Hell, DC doesn't even get aquaman. First they kill his son, pretty big deal. Then he loses his wife and hand. Then he loses his kingdom. Oh snap, he gets a beard, a hook hand, and long hair, with a chest piece. Damn, A-Man done went Connan underwater on somedody!

Then he goes back in time, resinks Atlantis, gets exiled, and now he has a water hand. What's it good for? overpowering magic, parting oceans, traveling through different and secret seas, doing whatever the Lady of the Lake told him, and when ever he used it for violence, you know kicking supervillian ass, he would have to fight that lame supervillian called the Thirst. Then he goes back to the old orange and green, half of San Diego falls into the ocean, he deals with alot of interesting things and a villian named The Eel. But suddenly, one year later he's now a squidman who has to train a younger and weaker version of himself. And how does that end? He dies.

Now, there have been good uses of Aquaman from time to time. Despite how I feel about the costume change, PAD wrote a good aquaman. Grant Morrison on JLA kicked ass with Aquaman. The Alex Ross Aquaman from the Justice Maxi series was badass. But with that said, I'm really looking forward to see with Johns can do with Aquaman in Blackest Night.

The only reason why aquaman can be seen as a loser is because well, people keep playing it up. Even on The Brave and The Bold cartoon, sure he's strong, but he's practically an idiot. If DC would take more action with Aquaman like they did other characters aquaman could be cool. He doesn't need new powers, or a really pimp costume, just make him badass, and that doesn't mean make him a blond Namor. DC treats Batman and Supes like gods because they bring in big money. I'm sure if they gave other characters that treatment they could make big bucks too. Honestly, If DC can't kickass at the Box Office with GL, WW, or even Flash something is very wrong. Ironman wasn't even an A-Lister (which surprised the hell out of me), and now he's getting mad props (Sorry for bringing up a Marvel character on a DC board) after his movie.

 

[Lobo]

be honest aqua man is the most comedic relief hero that was not meant for comic relief hell family guy rips on him time and time again.

even entourage does it too

all the GA will know about aqua man is oh that dude who talks to fish ...GAY

that is what they would say

Yeah they say that, but now, imagine a seen where Black Manta has discovered Atlantis location, and Aquaman shows up with an army of great whites at his beck and call? The audience would be like "oh ****" and that whole talking to sea life thing wouldn't seem so stupid anymore.

Anyway as of now, Travis Van Winkle has my support for this part.

 

[cerealkiller182]

be honest aqua man is the most comedic relief hero that was not meant for comic relief hell family guy rips on him time and time again.

even entourage does it too

all the GA will know about aqua man is oh that dude who talks to fish ...GAY

that is what they would say

Did you actually bother to read my reasoning in the first place. You act like what I said was a stretch. To be honest Aquaman is also a king and almost as strong as Superman and has been a legit superhero for years. Like I said, the general audience had a similar skewed perception of Batman being a cornball closeted homosexual who keeps scantily clad boys in his cave before Burton made Batman. Its practically the same damn thing

 

[Project862006]

Then why does he still have little respect some 60 years later he arrived not that much after batman did in the comics to the general public.Batman has had respect for a good 20 years now since the Burton film why is Aquaman still waiting for his due.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Then why does he still have little respect some 60 years later he arrived not that much after batman did in the comics to the general public.Batman has had respect for a good 20 years now since the Burton film why is Aquaman still waiting for his due.

1) Family Guy beats dead horses like crazy. They'll never drop, even when it stops being funny 2)What DC character has had their due since Burton's Batman? Just Batman again IMO, some will say Supes though 3) If he had his Burton Batman counterpart, like any DC character, he would be redefined for the general audience. Thats what it did for Batman, hypothetically thats what it would do for Aquaman (or any of em)

 

[tallsy_1]

I cannot agree with the equation of the (admittedly devalued) Batman franchise when Nolan took over and the current state of Aquaman.

There is no debating Batman's place in the cultural pantheon regardless of some missteps, even the Adam West series is really a product more of its time than an indictment of the character. The audience was "ready" for a darker interpretation of Batman. Heck, Burton's Batman wasn't exactly "light."

Aquaman is a different kettle of fish (pun intended) entirely. It does not have and NEVER HAD that kind of cultural prestige. That's why IMO they should use Iron Man as a model, not Nolan's Batman.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I cannot agree with the equation of the (admittedly devalued) Batman franchise when Nolan took over and the current state of Aquaman.

There is no debating Batman's place in the cultural pantheon regardless of some missteps, even the Adam West series is really a product more of its time than an indictment of the character. The audience was "ready" for a darker interpretation of Batman. Heck, Burton's Batman wasn't exactly "light."

Aquaman is a different kettle of fish (pun intended) entirely. It does not have that kind of cultural prestige. That's why IMO they should use Iron Man as a model, not Nolan's Batman.

You talking about me. Because I said devalued Batman before Burton not Nolan which regardless of cultural prestige was a redefining of public's understanding boosting the prestige in the first place.

Anyway, neither Burton's Bats, Nolan's Bats, nor Iron Man should be used as a template, this will only lead to either a hyper-reality or a run-of-the-mill superhero flick, only the obvious seriousness taken in adapting the source material. Aquaman's subtle Arthurian elements makes it prime for an actual unique superhero film, sword and sandal flick set underwater.

 

[Project862006]

who would be the best director for aqua man then

 

[cerealkiller182]

who would be the best director for aqua man then

Don't know. Varies and up for debate. At the moment, Neill Blomkamp sounds appealing. Thus far he has a reputation based on uniqueness in the business and is known as an ambitious indie director, so his attention to detail and quality is there. Partnered with Peter Jackson and a visual effects resume, he could certainly capture a unique vision of Atlantis. I think in order to shoot people talking, living, surviving in an underwater environment is probably going to take James Cameron's Avatar technology, and that is not an Entourage reference.

 

[Lobo]

I like John Stockwell as director, he's shown a flair for great underwater cinematography in both Blue Crush and Into the Blue and I think he could give us something cool.

 

[Project862006]

but those movies suck LOL

Gore Verbinski would not be a bad choice he was gonna do bioshock so he was interested in underwater atmosphere and he did potc series which tons of that as well

 

[Webhead2006]

ya if they keep up the image of a cheesy aquaman yes the public is always going to mock the character. if they can bring up the better aspects the character has gone through the years in the comics like the king of atlantis, etc.... it will show people he is not just about talking to fish.

 

[tallsy_1]

You talking about me. Because I said devalued Batman before Burton not Nolan which regardless of cultural prestige was a redefining of public's understanding boosting the prestige in the first place.

Anyway, neither Burton's Bats, Nolan's Bats, nor Iron Man should be used as a template, this will only lead to either a hyper-reality or a run-of-the-mill superhero flick, only the obvious seriousness taken in adapting the source material. Aquaman's subtle Arthurian elements makes it prime for an actual unique superhero film, sword and sandal flick set underwater.

ComicFan4Life discussed the Schumacher era, but I still stand behind the general proposition that the place of Batman in the cultural landscape even pre-Burton is not comparable to Aquaman now.

Certainly an Aquaman film can wow audiences. I still think that Aquaman's checkered cultural history will play a role in casting (what I was originally talking about after all). And there are two ways to go: someone who try to overcome that perception or someone who can co-opt it and use it to the film's advantage. I think the latter is a wiser choice.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I like John Stockwell as director, he's shown a flair for great underwater cinematography in both Blue Crush and Into the Blue and I think he could give us something cool.

This is not the movie to do practical underwater filmmaking. Its not just swimming, its legit living underwater

 

[BestGirl]

ComicFan4Life discussed the Schumacher era, but I still stand behind the general proposition that the place of Batman in the cultural landscape even pre-Burton is not comparable to Aquaman now.

Certainly an Aquaman film can wow audiences. I still think that Aquaman's checkered cultural history will play a role in casting (what I was originally talking about after all). And there are two ways to go: someone who try to overcome that perception or someone who can co-opt it and use it to the film's advantage. I think the latter is a wiser choice.

I'd prefer the former. I don't see any need to acknowledge Aquaman's history of cheesiness and mockery. Let's just play it straight and trust the audience to go along with it.