SPOILER ALERT: Just for good measure, this article contains information and images that may be considered SPOILERS for ‘Aquaman’, so proceed with caution.
In May, a photo leaked that showed a toy or model of Jason Momoa wearing a suit that looked almost exactly like the classic Aquaman suit from the comics. The way Momoa appeared in ‘Justice League’ looked closer to the way the character had appeared in comics in the 1990s, when DC hoped to forever ditch his clean-cut ‘Super Friends’ image in favor of a more barbarian-like style, complete with a harpoon that replaced one of his hands, which was eaten off by piranha.
Gone was his bright orange shirt. In fact, gone was a shirt of any sort. Arthur of Atlantis now sported armor on his torso as well as long flowing hair and a beard. In ‘Justice League’, Momoa also wore a more armored look including scenes where he likewise didn’t wear a shirt.
While showing off some production artwork for the ‘Aquaman’ film, Momoa showed a rendering of himself wearing a suit that more closely emulated the classic costume, which, in more recent years, the comic book character has gone back to wearing. According to Momoa “[Director] James [Wan] definitely wants to keep it just like the original.”
Producer Andrew Safran concurred that the film borrows from Geoff Johns’ New 52 run, in which the old school Aquaman returned with a vengeance.
“I think that the New 52 version of Aquaman was definitely our touchstone and our starting point. And even though the film is not a direct adaptation of that, that was certainly, in terms of his origin, who he is; that Tom Curry is his father and Atlanna is his mother, who Orm is, etcetera. That all comes from the New 52. And, there are certainly creature elements from it, from the Trench. So, that was our biggest influence.”
Below is the image that originally leaked back in May that indeed shows Momoa (well, not the real deal) decked out in the orange and green:
Of course Momoa, who is of Polynesian descent, kept his long brown hair and beard. This is just a model so we have to wait a bit to see how the actor actually looks suited up.
The first ‘Aquaman’ trailer will premiere this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con and there will likely be a lot more unveiled about the upcoming movie.
James Wan’s ‘Aquaman’ opens on December 21, 2019.
Sources: ComicBook.com, BoundingIntoComics.com
