Aquaman has long been the punchline of the DC Universe, but that’s all about to change with James Wan’s super fun, outrageously epic adaptation which will bring the King of Atlantis to the big screen in his first solo movie. Our very own Dan Casey swam over to New York City so to speak to the Amber Heard, Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, and their visionary director about how they took Arthur Curry from zero to hero… just like that!

Momoa has always been inspired casting and it seems like he was a big part of taking the hero from drool to cool. The Game of Thrones actor shared what interested him in Wan’s vision and his desire to see the origin of the character that he first introduced in Justice League. During our chat Wan shared that for him it’s all about subverting the expectations and taking the humor and things fans have often found funny and making them cool, which he does a splendid job of whilst never losing the absurdity of Atlantis, heck, he even shouts out Aquaman’s trusty Octopus sidekick Topo in our interview!

Aquaman’s greatest ally is Mera the Princess of neighboring kingdom known as Xebel. She’s brought to life by Amber Heard who was quick to gush about the strong female character and how she’s often the one saving Arthur rather than the other way around. It wouldn’t be a superhero movie without a solid villain though, and Patrick Wilson’s Orm brings a Shakespearean tragedy to the whole proceedings, and Wilson shared his thoughts on the necessity of having a serious antagonist to play against in such a vibrant and funny film. Basically if you’ve been waiting to hear the core cast talking about everything Aquaman then we have you covered!

Images: Warner Bros., Filmation