Patrick Wilson as Orm in Aquaman.Of late, a series of superhero movies have had sympathetic villains. Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War had bad guys whose motives or at least reasons for their arguably horrible actions resonated with some fans. DC is trying to do the same with Aquaman’s Orm, played by Patrick Wilson.
A half-brother to Arthur Curry or Aquaman, Orm, the current ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, wants to wage a war against the surface world.
The reason is not so much just villainy for villainy’s sake, but his anger originates due to us, the surface dwellers, polluting the seas for centuries.
“For centuries, the surface world has been polluting the oceans and ruining my world,” Patrick Wilson said. “So, there’s a method to his madness.”
He added, “It’s a very ecological fight he wants, and he believes the only way to defeat the surface world is to have all the other ocean kingdoms aligned with him. And if that happens, he becomes Ocean Master.”
Aquaman’s director James Wan, who is a frequent collaborator with Patrick Wilson (having worked with him in movies like The Conjuring), opined that Patrick is a character actor trapped in the body of a leading man.
He said, “Throughout the writing process, I just kept thinking that Patrick would be perfect for Orm, so I started writing him more for Patrick, hoping that when I got to the very end, I could convince the powers that be that he would be the right guy for this role. I just knew that Patrick would come into this and kill it.”
Aquaman hits Indian screens on December 14.
