News broke recently that Dolph Lundgren had signed on for the Aquaman movie, playing a rather big role. He's set to play King Nereus, who has been described as a character who is determined to kill Aquaman. You would think there is no other way to describe that sort of gig than villainous, but after people were reporting on social media that King Nereus is a villain, director James Wan decided to set the record straight. Here's what he said about Dolph Lundgren's upcoming role:
Not quite villain, but thank you. :)
Alright, so Dolph Lundgren is for sure joining Aquaman. He's also definitely playing King Nereus, who is known in the comics for being interested in Mera, who will be played by Amber Heard in the film. In the comics, he actually sent Mera to charm Aquaman and then backstab him by killing him, although his plan is foiled when Mera actually falls for Arthur Curry. Because Aquaman had already signed on two villains before adding Dolph Lundgren's character, it's probably better if Nereus isn't a full-on villain. But what does Wan mean with his comment? If he's definitely not going to be a villain in the movie, what does that make him? An antagonist? A frenemy? A pest? They certainly aren't going to be buddy-buddy.
Wan hasn't said much else about the character, except to also take to Twitter to say the secret had been very difficult to keep and to welcome Dolph Lundgren to the cast. It will be quite some time before we see the character on the big screen, as Aquaman won't be released until December 18, 2018. In the meantime, though, you'll be able to catch Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry in Justice League.
As for the real villains in the Aquaman movie, we already know that Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen have both been cast in villainous roles. Wilson will be playing Orm, or Ocean Master, who also happens to be Aquaman's half-brother. Abdul-Mateen will be playing Black Manta, who also has a feud with Aquaman. It's not uncommon for superhero movies to add a slew of rogues, but we're still intrigued about the "not quite a villain" comment. While Mera and Aquaman are eventually lovers in the comics, we don't know exactly where in the timeline their relationship will pick up, as reports have indicated they won't "click" at first. Perhaps King Nerus will have something to do with that.
We'll have to wait and find out. In the meantime, DC's upcoming films Wonder Woman and Justice League will hit theaters on June 2 and November 17, respectively. This year's other upcoming flicks can be perused with our full schedule or feel free to learn more about Aquaman.
