Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Asked Geoff Johns For Advice About Black Manta

It looks like Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II did a lot of work so that he could prepare for his role as Black Manta.

ComicBook.com was able to speak with Abdul-Mateen II during their Aquaman set visit, and during their discussion together the Black Manta star decided to open up a little bit about the work he put into playing Arthur Curry's nemesis in the upcoming DC Extended Universe installment. Not only did the actor do research, Abdul-Mateen II decided to go to DC comic book writer Geoff Johns for a bit of advice on his role as Black Manta.

"We sat down a couple of weeks ago when I was in Los Angeles," the actor said. "He's a big fan of the character. Yeah, he's a big fan of the character, he loves him, and he's seen some stuff, and he's liked what he's seen thus far. I mean, I was really excited to get across the table from him and talk about the character, and just pick his brain about some of his ideas, and say, 'Oh, okay, okay. I kind of see what you're doing. This is where I think I'll also start.' We actually sat down, and we were pretty much in line with a lot of the ideas."

Though Aquaman isn't a direct adaptation of any single comic book movie, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' run on Aquaman in DC Comic's New 52 serves as the standalone movies' "touchstone." That makes Johns the perfect person to approach to ask for advice about Black Manta. Sure, Black Manta might only be a secondary villain the Aquaman standalone movie, but Warner Brothers has promised fans that the baddie is going to have a larger role later on in the DCEU.

Aquaman premieres on December 21, 2018.

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