Why Aquaman’s Classic Comic Costume Presented Real Challenges To James Wan

Jason Momoa in Aquaman

The DC superheroes have signature suits that can be recognized by fans all around the world. Superman has his cape, and the oversized "S" that takes up his entire chest. Wonder Woman has the gauntlets on her wrists, and a crown that completes her garb. And Aquaman, for better or for worse, suits up in a green-and-orange number that presented real issues for Aquaman director James Wan. As the filmmaker recently told CinemaBlend:

It's not the easiest suit to make look cool. [Laughs] If you are doing a Batman movie, that's an easy one to make look cool! But an Aquaman suit? It was a bit of a challenge. But at the end of the day, what ultimately made it work was that the suit itself is so inherently part of the story. And the fact that it actually has an origin. The suit itself, it belonged to the first king of Atlantis. By doing stuff like that, by working it into the story and plot of the film, it just gives it a bit more weight, and it's not just a cool suit, or whatever, for the sake of making him look like the comic book character. Though, I really wanted him to wear his classic suit, but it took a lot of design work to get it there, to get it looking right.

Many of you may recall that the suit featured in the photo at the top of this story closed off the last full trailer for James Wan's Aquaman. It was a massive reveal for the DC Comics character, as his costume in the ensemble Justice League was more toned down, and dull. It had a green and yellow tint to it, and looked nothing like his signature apparel from the comic books:

Jason Momoa in Justice League

The reveal of the orange-and-green Aquaman suit was so major, we falsely assumed that this meant it would be the final shot of the movie, with Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) finally embracing his role as the King of Atlantis, assuming his spot on the throne of the underwater kingdom that he has spent years rejecting.

And without giving anything away, that trailer shot -- the one of Arthur stepping out in the suit for the first time -- is NOT the last shot in the movie. Not by a longshot.

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Here's James Wan talking openly about trying to make the classic Aquaman suit look cool in the year 2018:

You are so close to being able to go see Aquaman for yourself. The movie opens in theaters on Thursday, Dec. 20, and is a proper step in the right direction for DC. For more on what's to come in the DCEU, head on over to our DCEU hub, which is brimming with all of the latest developments.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.