A spoiler-free discussion.
In a little over a year from now, we will once again return to the magical underwater kingdom of Atlantis to join Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Amber Heard’s Mera in yet another breathtaking CGI-filled aquatic adventure in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. And while we certainly cannot wait to dive right into the superhero sequel (pardon the pun), a thought did cross our minds where creative continuity is concerned.
As we should already be well-aware of by now, the hugely successful release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League earlier this year introduced (or should we say, reintroduced) DC Comics fans to a very distinct version of the Atlantean community in comparison to what we witnessed on screen in the first Aquaman film in 2018.
No, we are not referring to the contrast in color grading between the two films, although it is very obvious to see that the two films stand in stark difference on that front.
Instead, there were three key aspects of Atlantis in the Snyder Cut, which we believe were far greater depictions of the city and its people, ones we hope to witness again on the big screen when the Aquaman sequel finally arrives in theaters.
Atlantis as a sunken city in Zack Snyder’s Justice League
One of the coolest depictions of Atlantis in the Snyder Cut was undoubtedly in the way the city itself was designed. Even though viewers were not provided with much in the form of a panoramic view of the city in the film, it is easy to conclude that the Atlantis that we see in the Snyder Cut draws its inspiration closely from the actual mythology about the city being one that was swallowed up by the sea, with its buildings showcasing a more ruined visage and its surface-dweller masonry exhibiting signs that it has eroded over time due to having been submerged underwater for thousands of years. This depiction of the city felt authentic to viewers like us, as opposed to the city concept used in the Aquaman film that was eventually dubbed by audiences as the “underwater Wakanda”.
How the Atlanteans communicate in the Snyder Cut
Yet another glaringly obvious difference between the Atlantis we see in the Snyder Cut and the one we see in Aquaman is the way characters communicate with one another underwater. While the Aquaman version of communication appears no different from how individuals would communicate on the surface, the Snyder Cut took it a step further by implementing a telekinetic bubble of sorts that could be summoned to allow the characters to speak to one another freely without any watery obstruction.
This concept made more sense, as sound would have a far more difficult time traveling through the liquid, making for a more garbled and unintelligible form of dialogue to take place. Unless the Aquaman sequel plans to incorporate a complete telepathic means of communication between its characters throughout its underwater sequences, it would certainly be wise for this element from the Snyder Cut to be incorporated into future Aquaman films for added plausibility during regular communication underwater.
The Atlanteans speak with an English accent in the Snyder Cut
This particular point may have slipped under the noses (or ears) of most casual audiences, but there is a significant difference in the Atlantean accents both in the Aquaman film and the Snyder Cut. While the former did not pay much attention to providing the people of Atlantis with a distinct accent, the Snyder Cut would later reveal the Atlanteans to have English ones. Of course, whether or not an English accent is utilized in the Aquaman sequel for the people of Atlantis would not make much of a difference storywise. Still, it would undoubtedly add more “class” to the characters, primarily because the Atlanteans we follow in Aquaman mythology are either of royal descent or nobility.
Therefore, the question of whether Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would implement elements of the Snyder Cut depends solely on the direction that the studio intends to head towards. As we have learned from recent superhero news, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash film has indeed tweaked things around to suit the continuity established by Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Hence, we certainly would not be surprised to see the Aquaman sequel doing the exact same thing. At least, we sure hope so.
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