Aquaman Movie Casts “The Get Down” Actor As Nemesis Black Manta

Aquaman has found its Black Manta in Yahya Abdul-Mateen II!

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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the smooth-talking bad boy from the Netflix series The Get Down, will be playing the role of one of Aquaman’s most villainous foes Black Manta in the upcoming Aquaman movie.

Sources told Variety that Abdul-Mateen II was one of the short list of actors to play the role. That list included Moonlights’  Trevante Rhodes, and Straight Outta Compton and 24 Legacy star Cory Hawkins.

Black Manta debuted in Aquaman #35 (September 1967) and was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. Throughout his history in DC Comics, he has had multiple origin stories.

The one factor that has remained the same through all of Manta’s publication history is his deep hatred for Aquaman. Black Manta has always vowed to get revenge on him for a past transgression.

Image Courtesy of DC Comics

Manta was the main villain in the first arc of the current Aquaman: Rebirth as the leader of N.E.M.O., a secret organization hell-bent on taking over the world through the oceans.

Having Manta in the film will be interesting because casting Adbul-Mateen II opens up doors that the DC Extended Universe has not discovered before. Because Aquaman is relatively unknown to popular culture, Manta is one of the few recognizable rogues that Aquaman has.

Also, Manta has a mean streak that very few of his DC Comics counterparts can relate too. In the Brightest Day storyline, when Manta heard the news that Aquaman was resurrected, he burnt his fish market and killed a woman in the process.

Another interesting aspect with Manta is his son Aqualad. Aqualad rejects his father’s villainous ways and joins the Justice League.

Manta was also a key role as a member of The Light in the DC Comics animated series Young Justice which ran from 2011-2013.

It is also rumored that Nicole Kidman is in the early stages to take the role of Aquaman’s mother, Queen Atlanta.

For the foreseeable future, Abdul-Mateen II will be co-starring alongside Dwayne Johnson in the Baywatch remake.

Image Courtesy of TheWrap.com

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa and is set to be released on October 5, 2018.

Official Synopsis: Aquaman (Momoa) is the King of the Seven Seas. Leader of Atlantis, he is caught between the surface world constantly ravaging the seas and Atlanteans looking to lash out in revolt. Aquaman is committed to protecting the entire world.