The King of the Seven Seas just got himself a brother from another mother.
Deadline revealed today that the upcoming DC Extended Universe film Aquaman has cast Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain Ocean Master. Wilson joins Jason Momoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry and Amber Heard as Mera in the film directed by James Wan.
Wilson, 43, is best known as Nite-Owl/Dan Dreiberg in the 2009 Zack Snyder film Watchmen, and recently voiced the President of the United States in Snyder's 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which featured Momoa's Aquaman in a cameo. His other films include The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2, Prometheus, The A-Team, and The Phantom of the Opera (2004). Wilson's television work includes Fargo, Girls, and A Gifted Man.
Created in 1966 by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, Ocean Master first appeared in Aquaman (vol.1) #29 as Orm Curry, the fully human half-brother, the son of Tom Curry (Aquaman's father) and a woman named Mary O'Sullivan. Orm grew up under the shadow of his heroic half-brother and resented the fact that he had none of Aquaman's powers, being fully human, and he was already a petty criminal when he was stricken with amnesia and forgot all about his former life, disappearing shortly afterwards.
Several years later, the self-named Orm Marius reappeared as the Ocean Master, a high-tech pirate who initially attacked ships, but quickly moved on to causing natural disasters in order to hold the world at ransom. Aquaman and Aqualad were captured by Ocean Master but managed to escape. Aquaman was unable to fight Ocean Master, after having seen behind the Ocean Master's mask and realizing that he was his half-brother Orm, although he did stop his plan.
Ocean Master's origin was changed in the 1994 limited series Aquaman: Time and Tide by writer Peter David. In this version, Orm was still Aquaman's half-brother, but since Aquaman was no longer the son of Thomas Curry, Orm was the son of Atlan the wizard (Aquaman's true father) and an Inupiat woman. The series told how one of his early encounters with humans was when he rescued a girl named Kako from a polar bear. Her family were all traditionalists, except her cousin Orm, who had no time for the old ways. When Kako and Orin/Arthur (the future Aquaman) began a sexual relationship, Orm attacked her in a jealous rage. Although she survived, she did not recall what had happened to her. As in pre-Crisis continuity, Ocean Master desired the throne of Atlantis, having learned that his father was an Atlantean wizard.
In 2011, Ocean Master's origin was once again revised by writer Geoff Johns as part of the new DC Comics continuity known as The New 52. According to the Atlantean advisor Vulko, the queen of Atlantis, Atlanna, left her first child, Arthur Curry, to live with his father on the surface world, thus protecting him from the effects of Atlantean tyranny. Atlanna was later forced to marry a member of the Atlantean Guard and gave birth to her second child, Orm. Twelve years later, Orm's father was killed and Atlanna died under unknown circumstances, making Orm the new king. Vulko accused Orm of killing Atlanna, but failed to produce evidence and fled. When Vulko was later confronted by Arthur (who was searching for Atlantis), he explained his brother's origins and told him that Arthur was the rightful heir of Atlantis's throne, and therefore, must overthrow Orm. Aquaman allowed Orm to remain the king of Atlantis, on the condition that he would not invade the surface world.
Wilson will be the first actor to portray Ocean Master in live action, although the character has appeared in various animated projects, including Justice League (voiced by Richard Green), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Wallace Langham), Young Justice (voiced by Roger Craig Smith), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (voiced by James Patrick Stuart), Justice League: War (voiced by Steven Blum), and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (voiced by Sam Witwer).
Aquaman is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 27, 2018.