Despite being cast as the villainous Black Manta in Warner Bros. Aquaman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II had a shocking confession to make at Comic-Con International in San Diego: When he was cast, he had no idea how to swim.
“I secretly went down to the hotel pool when we were filming with a kick board and taught myself how to swim in the mornings and evenings,” Abdul-Mateen II said during Warner Bros.’ Hall H panel on Saturday, “but then in the end I ended up not really having to do that much swimming.”
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Geoff Johns, who co-wrote Aquaman with director James Wan and screenwriter Will Beall, had Black Manta factor heavily into his comic book run during the New 52 with artist Ivan Reis. In fact, the duo’s New 52 run reportedly served as a strong inspiration for the DCEU film, both in terms of visual design and backstories behind the characters. Last month, fans were given their first glimpse of the antagonist revealing a helmet that was faithful to the source material.
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry and Dolph Lundgren as Nereus. The film is scheduled to make a big splash in theaters December 21.
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