Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | |
Director: | Jay Oliva Ethan Spaulding |
Producer: | James Tucker |
Writer(s): | Heath Corson |
Release Date: | January 14, 2015 |
Running Time: | 72 mins |
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Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is an animated film adaptation of the Throne of Atlantis storyline and the fourth feature length film in the DC Animated Film Universe following Justice League: War and Son of Batman.
Plot[]
In the Atlantic, the U.S.S. California submarine picks up incoming, human-like threats approaching the sub by sonar. The sub is attacked, leaving the entire crew dead by the invading hostiles. At S.T.A.R. Labs' Justice League headquarters, Cyborg is given news by Colonel Steve Trevor over the sunken sub. Cyborg decides to check it out himself, deciding against Trevor's idea of calling the other superheroes, as he puts it "there is no Justice League". At Mercy Reef, Arthur Curry, drunk over the death of his father, picks a fight with a group of tough guys over them wanting to eat the lobster Arthur was talking to. He defeats them, but is watched by Mera and Dr. Shin. At the sunken sub, Cyborg discovers hand prints on the hull, and that the missiles are missing. He is then attacked by the same hostiles that attacked the sub, and suffers damage through his escape. Back at their HQ, Cyborg gets help from Flash and Shazam to get Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, leaving Batman the last one remaining. Green Lantern decides to head to Gotham City to get Batman, who is currently chasing the henchmen of the Scarecrow. Green Lantern captures them for Batman, but Batman is angry as he needed them to head to where Scarecrow was hiding. Before joining the League, Batman sets Nightwing and Robin on the task of finding Scarecrow. With the entire team together, they check the raised sub and Cyborg's assault; they realize the enemy isn't related to Darkseid, but warriors from Earth's origin. Thanks to Diana's knowledge, she reveals these warriors are from Atlantis; with the theory of war related to the missing missiles, and using Shazam's suggestion, Batman and Superman decide to meet Atlantis-expert Dr. Shin, while the others are tasked in finding Atlantis.
At Atlantis, Orm and Black Manta meet with Orm's mother, Queen Atlanna. They argue over declaring war on the surface world because of the damage during the events of Darkseid's attack, and Atlanna asks Mera to bring Arthur, her other son, to Atlantis. Black Manta uses a fake submarine to attack Atlantis using the same stolen missiles, framing the surface for the attack. Arthur answers the door to Dr. Shin, who tries to tell him that his father contacted him before his death to help Arthur; moments later, he is killed by Atlantean soldiers. Arthur is overwhelmed by the attack, until he is saved by Mera. Batman and Superman enter Dr. Shin's home, discovering that his work is destroyed. Superman recreates a photograph of Arthur Curry and a letter from his father revealing that his son is half-Atlantean; Batman decides they must find him. The attack on Atlantis leads the citizens to demand for war, but Queen Atlanna decides that they might need to reveal themselves after centuries of being hidden, and decides to contact the Justice League. Arthur wakes up underwater next to Mera, who reveals the situation: Atlanna met Arthur's father and gave birth to him, but because of royalty, she couldn't be with him nor Arthur so had to leave to be with her king and Orm. Now, Atlanna believes Arthur can help Atlantis be the bridge between the two worlds; Mera shows him ancient ruins, where she dresses him with his royal garb. Arthur can't take the news and heads to surface, with Mera following him; soon, they are attacked by the Trench. The battle is tough, with Arthur bleeding for the first time in his life, until the Justice League arrive in time to defeat the Trench. Orm hears from Manta that the Trench failed to kill Arthur; Orm and Queen Atlanna argue because Orm wants to start a war, as per his late father's wishes, and reveals his knowledge of Arthur Curry. Queen Atlanna reveals to him that she knows he attacked Atlantis, and with this news, Manta and Orm murder Atlanna and take over, although Orm manages to stab her at the back.
Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg Arthur, and Mera, arrive at Atlantis and learn of Atlanna's death, and are defeated by Orm (who has now become the super villain "Ocean Master") . The group is sent to be consumed by the monstrous Dark Trench, while Ocean Master leads Atlantis' army to the surface. Arthur breaks from his bonds and with Superman's help, they save the rest and defeat the monster. In Metropolis, a tidal wave, Ocean Master's army in disguise, reaches the shores and begins the attack. The military fight back but are powerless until the League arrive. During the fight, Superman saves John Henry Irons, and Wonder Woman saves Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Arthur fights Black Manta, who reveals his plan to have manipulated Ocean Master and will soon get rid of him and take over; just as he explains this, he doesn't realize Arthur calling a great white shark to attack him defeating Black Manta. Mera fights Ocean Master, but is taken down; the League come in, but one by one, some (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Shazam) are defeated, or (Superman and Cyborg) severely wounded. Arthur becomes the last to face Ocean Master, and has an upper hand during the fight until the end. Batman saves Cyborg from dying, and he reveals that he got video of Ocean Master confessing to killing his mother when they were captured. Cyborg broadcasts Ocean Master's confession all over Metropolis for Atlantis' soldiers to see; Arthur takes the upper hand and defeats Ocean Master, then he leads his soldiers to bridge Atlantis and the surface together in peace instead of war; with that, the attack ends.
Later in Atlantis, Arthur is crowned as king, with the Justice League among the audience celebrating. Batman suggests that with new threats appearing, they need to solidify the team, and Cyborg reveals plans for a watchtower. Arthur joins as Aquaman, despite his dislike towards the name, and soon heads with now love interest Mera against the Trench outside Atlantis. In the post credits scene, Orm is jailed at Belle Reve Prison, and is approached by Lex Luthor who has a proposition for him to consider.
Cast[]
- Matt Lanter as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
- Sumalee Montano as Mera
- Sam Witwer as Orm/Ocean Master
- Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Jerry O'Connell as Clark Kent/Superman
- Rosario Dawson as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
- Christopher Gorham as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
- Shemar Moore as Victor Stone/Cyborg
- Sean Astin as Billy Batson/Shazam
- Sirena Irwin as Queen Atlanna
- Steve Blum as Cyborg's Computer and Lex Luthor
- Harry Lennix as Black Manta
- George Newbern as Steve Trevor
- Melique Berger as Sarah Charles
- Juliet Landau as Lois Lane
- Larry Cedar as Thomas Curry
- Barry Dennen as Defense Adviser
- Paul Eiding as Captain and Bartender
- Jay Johnson as General Sam Lane
- Matthew Yang King as Stephen Shin
- Khary Payton as John Henry Irons and Drift Member
- Patrick Cavanaugh as Jimmy Olsen
- Andrea Romano as Elderly Atlantean Woman
- Michael Rosenbaum as Drift Leader
- Cedric Yarbrough as Sub Technician and Thug
Production[]
At the 2013 New York Comic Con, during a panel discussion for Justice League: War, it was announced that Aquaman would be getting his own movie rather then appearing in Justice League: War.
Gary Miereanu of DC Entertianment announced on his twitter feed in 2014, that Alan Tudyk, Michelle Monaghan, and Justin Kirk would not reprise their roles as Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern due to scheduling conflicts and would be replaced in the roles by Jerry O'Connell, Rosario Dawson, and Nathan Fillion who will reprise his role from previous DC comics movies.
Inspired by the character's reboot in the New 52, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis tells the origin story of how Arthur Curry becomes Aquaman.
"We meet him at a low point in his life," supervising producer James Tucker told TV Guide. "He's a little bit lost. His father has died and he's always been an outsider, so the one person who had his back is now gone. When that Atlanteans instigate incidents to escalate a war with the surface world, he doesn't yet know who he is. As he discovers his true history he's going to have a lot of choices to make. It's definitely about him finding his own path."
Matt Lanter announced on his twitter feed on July 16, 2014 that he would play Aquaman in the film, on the same day, Gary Miereanu announced that Jason O Mara and Shemar Moore would reprise their roles as Batman and Cyborg while Sam Witwer was cast as Orm/Ocean Master.
On August 10, a sneak peek of the film was released. Confirming Sirena Irwin as Queen Atlanna and Sean Patrick Thomas replacing Shemar Moore as Cyborg for the film, while Steven Blum will reprise his role as Cyborg's computer, and Sean Astin reprising his role as Shazam, making it only four members of the original cast from Justice League: War reprising their roles.
On the same day, Heath Corsen, writer of Justice League: War, was revealed to be writing the sequel.
On October 2, 2014, Harry Lennix was annouced to play Black Manta in the film. The casting recieved postive reactions from fans. During the month, it was also announced Shemar Moore Would be reprising his role as Cyborg for the film, replacing Sean Patrick Thomas
On October 10, 2014 at the New York Comic Con, footage of the film was shown along with a Q and A session from Heath Corsen, Andrea Romano, James Tucker, Matt Lanter, and Phil Bourassa. There: Andrea Romano revealed that while Shemar Moore was not available, they hired Sean Patrick Thomas and recorded and animated to him, but afterward, Shemar Moores agent said that he was available and for continutey sake, they recast Sean Patrick Thomas with Shemare Moore and Shemar Moore dubbed the mouth flaps of Sean Patrick Thomas during post-production.