Aquaman is Warner Brothers only live-action superhero movie this year, so there is a lot of pressure on it to perform during the holiday box office season, especially since Justice League disappointed all expectations. To that end, Aquaman was a centerpiece of Warners’ presentation at CinemaCon yesterday. Director James Wan was there, along with stars Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. (The Warners panel was hosted by Will Arnett, voice of LEGO Batman, and at one point Momoa said, “You’re the best Batman,” which is true and also, are we not pretending anymore that everything is working out with the Justice League?) They screened the first footage anyone has seen from the movie. It sounds HELLA DUMB, with “shark horses” and Aquaman throwing a submarine, all of which I’m okay with. It’s AQUAMAN. This is not the superhero to take too seriously.
Of course, this now begs the question of when WE get to see something from this movie, like a trailer. Aquaman doesn’t come out until December, and it’s April, so we’re not even on the six-month clock yet, but there has been a steady thrum of anxiousness since nothing has been teased for this movie so far. I don’t mind, though, because in the past Warners has overdone it with their DC movies, advertising for YEARS in advance. Showing restraint would be a new thing for them. Maybe they drop a trailer tomorrow, to attach to Avengers: Infinity War this week, or maybe they don’t do anything until Comic-Con. I would prefer, honestly, that they wait simply because they do have so much runway left and there is no need to force it. Everything about the current run of DC movies has felt rushed and forced—except Wonder Woman. And that’s their best movie to date. So yeah, take your time, and get it right, and maybe we end up in a world where Aquaman, once a joke on Entourage, is THE movie of the holiday season. Although I’m sure Mary Poppins will have something to say about that.
