As part of their commitment to make the most uninteresting film possible, DC has made some puzzling changes to one of Arthur Curry’s on-screen adversaries in the upcoming Aquaman 2.
We already know that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will be returning to the DCU as Black Manta, but James Wan, director of the DC movie, has confirmed that there will be more than one bad guy for Jason Momoa to take down.
Specifically, Aquaman 2 will have two additional DC villains along with Black Manta: Stingray, and the classic Green Lantern villain Karshon. If you’ve read the comics, you’ll know that Karshon is one of the coolest DC characters ever made.
He’s basically a giant anthropomorphic shark that gained sentience after coming into contact with radiation. When he’s not taking down Green Lantern, Karshon is facing off against the likes of The Flash and Aquaman. He even joined the Suicide Squad at one point because, let’s face it — who wouldn’t want a genetically enhanced shark on their side?
Watching Jason Momoa battle a giant shark would be one of the best movie scenes of the year because, quite simply, it would look very funny. The sheer absurdity of the scene would bring a more lighthearted and humorous tone that DC movies have lacked in recent years. The trouble is, the Karshon we’ll meet in Aquaman 2 is radically different from the character in the comics.
“This Karshon is not a shark character,” James Wan told Empire. “It’s different [from] the comic books in that sense. One of the things we wanted to do, now that Arthur is king of Atlantis, is to give him barriers within the political world. Karshon comes from the High Council and is like a political roadblock for Arthur.”
We can’t beat around the bush with this — radically changing Karshon doesn’t bode well for the new movie. Firstly, why does Aquaman 2 need a complex, political subplot? This is a superhero movie about a man fish, not Succession.
And secondly, we could’ve had the chance to see Jason Momoa beat up a giant shark in IMAX, providing the kind of outlandish entertainment you’d expect from a superhero film this big. In all honesty, I don’t think many DC fans are actually excited about this film, and making such radical changes to this character will only alienate the fanbase further.
For more on men beating up sharks, check out our guide on how to watch The Meg 2. Or, if you’re still in that DC bubble, check out our guides to Chapter 1 Gods and Monsters, upcoming DC movies, and Superman Legacy.