"Aquaman", expected to boost DC universe to the heights.

There’s a big budget Aquaman movie coming this year, and it’s no laughing matter. No easy feat for a character whose mum has been a mermaid and whose dad has been a wizard (the backstory is flexible, as we shall see).

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry aka the eponymous hero, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanta, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta.

Aquaman is scheduled to be released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX 3D on December 21, 2018.

In 2018 Aquaman will attempt to imbue the character – aka Arthur Curry – with some gravitas. A synopsis leaked earlier in the year: “Aquaman will centre on Aquaman as a reluctant ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis who is caught between land dwellers that are always polluting the globe and his own people who are ready to invade the surface.”

How it performs at the box office, however, remains to be seen.