It looks like Warner Bros.' upcomingAquamanmovie is going to be a complicated family affair. It has been announced thatAquaman’s evil half-brother Orm, aka Ocean Master, will be appearing in the first solo outing for theJustice League’s resident Atlantean warrior. What’s more is thatFargoandThe ConjuringstarPatrick Wilsonhas been cast to play the part in the movie.
The news thatPatrick Wilsonwill be joining the growing cast ofAquamanas Orm comes courtesy ofDeadline. For those who may not be familiar with the character of Orm, he is a relatively new character in the DC Comics canon, first appearing in the 2012 run ofAquamanas part of the New 52 initiative. Ocean Master, however, has been around for quite some time, but his origin was retconned in 2012 to make it so he was the second son of Queen Atlanna and a descendant of Orin. He is extremely powerful and is a rival for the throne of Atlantis in the comics, so there could be some serious drama going on between him and his more famous brother in the movie. This could bare similarities to what Marvel did with Loki andThorin the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because it certainly does in the comics. So Warner Bros. could be taking a cue or two from Marvel Studios on this one.
As forPatrick Wilson, he will be joiningJason Momoa, who is playing the title character ofAquaman, aka Arthur Curry in the movie, who will first be appearing inJustice Leaguein November of next year (not including his brief email cameo inBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice). The cast ofAquamanalso currently includesAmber Heardas fellowAtlanteanMera, as well asWillem Dafoe, who is playing Nuidis Vulko, both of which have roles inJustice Leagueas well.Patrick Wilsonhas a good relationship with Warner Bros. and has starred in a comic book movie for them previously, playing Nite Owl inZack Snyder’sWatchmen. He also starred in bothThe ConjuringandThe Conjuring 2for directorJames Wan, who is directingAquaman. So his casting actually makes quite a bit of sense.
It is unclear at the moment if Orm will be the primary villain ofAquaman. At the very least, he probably won’t be the only bad guy squaring off with Arthur Curry in the movie. We reported a few months ago that long timeAquamanbad guyBlack Mantawas scheduled to appear in the movie as the main antagonist. Perhaps he and Orm could team up to try and take downAquaman? Or maybe this first movie will simply build the tension betweenAquamanand Orm, setting him up as a potential villain for a future movie. Maybe evenJustice League 2? Sort of like how Marvel made Loki the primary villain forThe Avengers. There are a lot of possibilities.
Recently,Aquamanhad its release date shifted from August 10, 2025, to August 07, 2025, givingJames Wana little more time to get this movie right. Even based on what little we have seen ofAquamanso far, it is very clear that this won’t be the laughable version of the character from the oldJustice Leagueanimated series. The movie has a very promising director and with the addition ofPatrick Wilson, an increasingly promising cast. Let’s just hope Warner Bros. can get things moving in the right direction elsewhere in the DC Extended Universe soJames Wancan do his thing withAquaman. We will next seeAquamaninJustice Leagueon August 22, 2025, which should plant some seeds for the character’s first solo movie. Maybe we’ll even get an Orm cameo?
