Aquaman Takes The Lead In New JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS Trailer

By Adam Holmes on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014

There’s no more DC animated movies left for 2014, but thanks to Newsarama, we have the first trailer for DC’s first 2015 animated film that’s sure to make a splash: Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. As the sequel to Justice League: War, this film is a combination of the Throne of Atlantis comic book storyline and Aquaman’s origin. After the Apokolips invasion in War, the Justice League must contend with an invasion from the forces of Atlantis led by Prince Orm (who you might know better as Ocean master), who is working with Black Manta. Meanwhile, Queen Atlanna searches for her other son, Orm’s half-brother Orm. Living on the surface for years, Arthur will finally accept his destiny and help the Justice League defeat Orm as Aquaman, the true king of Atlantis.

But enough reading! Check out the trailer for yourself!

As you can tell, despite Justice League being in the title, Aquaman is the focus of this aquatic romp. Remember though, this is DC. They think that if a movie doesn’t have Batman, Superman or Justice League in the title, it won’t sell. Regardless, it’s good to see Aquaman finally getting his due in a leading role, especially considering rise in popularity in recent years. When War was released, I was irritated that Shazam took Aquaman’s spot, but since the led to the King of Atlantis getting a film focused on him (title notwithstanding), now I’d say it’s a fair tradeoff.

The Justice League lineup is the same from War, although if you didn’t already know, the voices aren’t all the same. While Jason O’Mara (Batman), Christopher Gorham (The Flash), Sean Astin (Shazam), Shemar Moore (Cyborg) and Steven Blum (Cyborg’s armor) will be reprising their roles, Jerry O’Connell and Rosario Dawson will be voicing Superman and Wonder Woman this time around, while Nathan Fillion returns to voice Green Lantern. The rest of the cast includes Matt Lanter as the Aquaman himself (see what I did there?), Sumalee Motano as Mera, Sam Witwer as Orm and Sirena Irwin as Queen Atlanna. No actor listed for Black Manta yet, meaning DC is just waiting to announce him, or we’ll be getting a silent killer for this adaptation. UPDATE: Harry Lennix, who many of you know as General Swanwick in Man of Steel, has been announced as Black Manta.

There’s a lot of cool moments from this trailer, from a knife shattering on Aquaman’s chest to Orm loosing that tidal wave on the city. However, there’s one moment I want to draw to your attention. In Justice League: Origin (which War was based off of), there’s a scene where Aquaman sics a shark on a Parademon. Obviously we didn’t get that in War, but thankfully, DC has given us a badass shark scene this time, and it isn’t just attacking a nameless grunt. Oh no, it’s attacking Black Manta. Take that folks who think Aquaman is a wimp!

Do you love this as much as I do?

If this trailer wasn’t enough for you, not to worry. If you’re attending the New York City Comic-Con, on Friday October 10, there is a Justice League: Throne of Atlantis panel at 7:15pm on the Empire Stage 1-E. Panelists include Lanter, producer James Tucker, dialogue director Andrea Romano, screenwriter Heath Corson and character designer Phil Bourassa.

What do you think of the trailer? Does this look better than DC’s other recent animated movies, or jet more of the same? Let us know in the comments, and now I’ll leave you with some more screen caps.