What’s worse than a canceled spinoff? Probably a lot of things, to be honest. It’s pretty tame in the grand scheme of things. But among them is the insult to injury method of tragically finding out about a spinoff after its cancelation. It’s one thing to get hopes up and have them dashed, but it’s arguably even more devastating to find out about a project’s existence as well as its demise in one fell swoop. That’s what just happened with regards to Black Manta from James Wan’s 2018 surprise hitAquaman.
It turns out that Black Manta, one of the antagonists seen in DC’sAquamanfilm, had his own spinoff in the works from the same director. Unfortunately, that knowledge also came with the caveat that the film was already canceled. However, this particular instance of cool things no longer happening was a bit different from usual.
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The Black Manta spinoff was actually already announced and canceled well before the character’s involvement was even known. The project was Wan’sThe Trench, which was already planned as anAquamanspinoff just without confirming Black Manta’s involvement. BothThe Trenchand Ava DuVernay’sNew Godswere canceledback in April, supposedly as part of a push by Warner Bros. to restructure their future plans for films.
Funnily enough, Wan actually made the announcement in a comment on an Instagram post rather than on the post itself. Under a display of images showing offBlack Manta’s Silver Age-inspired outfitfrom the upcoming sequelAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, he offered a little tidbit of info about the canceled project. “I’ll let you in on a secret,” Wan wrote, “the canceledTrenchspin-off movie was really going to be a secret Black Manta movie.” Naturally, this is a rather bittersweet way of finding this out, but it’s good to know that somebody wanted to give the character his due. Considering howThe Trenchwas going to have more of a horror vibe, as it focused on a group of deep-sea monsters seen in the firstAquamanfilm, it certainly would have been an interesting premise to see how Black Manta would fit in.
Black Manta,played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II inAquamanand its impending sequel, has always been a complex and intricate character. As a mercenary, he’s sworn revenge against Aquaman for not rescuing his father during a botched hijacking mission. According to Abdul-Mateen, while the first movie introduced audiences to his motivations, the next entry will offer some deeper looks, allowing him as an actor to flex his muscles a little bit more with the role.
It’s sad knowing the ultimate nature of the canceled spinoff, especially given how much potential there is for new stories involving Black Manta. But at least he’ll be seenyet again inAquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Besides, if there was the chance for one spinoff, who’s to say there won’t be another opportunity?
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomis currently set to release on December 16th, 2022.
