Justice League film confirmed

[Reepicheep]

Its Aquamen,its not like hes gonna do something.So just chill.

Ok, that made me laugh a lot. Thanks, Spade.

[BentonGrey]

Kk, ha, fair enough.  I do want to read the Atlantis Chronicles one of these days.  I've heard great things about them.  I just wish they hadn't screwed with Arthur's origins.

Imagine a blonde Superman or a red headed Batman

Val Kilmer was light brunette Batman.

As for Aquaman, since the guy has had so many different looks over the years (long hair, bearded, clean shaven, buzz cut, tentacle faced etc), so many different costumes, and so many different hands (magical water hands, hook hands, hand hands), I think that Zack Snyder has a lot of material to choose from for his Justice League look. If they think Aquaman's comic fanbase is going to rebel and cost the film money at the box office, I'm sure they'll do something about his hair.

I think we have to like it or lump it that Zack Snyder's Aquaman isn't going to be the classic version, in the same way that neck-snapping Superman and (probably) Batman aren't the classic comic book characters. At a guess, he'll probably be an amalgam of the tougher bearded hook-hand Aquaman and the warlord-ish Flashpoint Aquaman.

I'm really keen to see some big budget underwater action, though ... I think Snyder will make Atlantis and Aquaman's powers look sweet. The one (and only) thing you can rely on Synder for as a director is some tasty visual spectacle.

Yeah, and Val Kilmer is also probably the most forgettable Batman, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

I think you're stretching a lot to justify this type of thing, Starman.  Aquaman has only really had three looks.  Everything else has been a variation on one of those themes, and only two of those three saw any enduring usage.  Of course, he's got the classic costume, of which there have been plenty of variations, but the basic idea has always remained the same.  It's also worth noting that this looks is so iconic and memorable that pretty much all other versions of the character at least have to do address and reference it, even if they don't use it.  Other than that, there's the blue camo, which disappeared immediately, and then there's the bearded, bedraggled loser version of PAD's run.  Even that one occasionally wore things reminiscent of his classic look.  That one lasted several years, but even so, think about it this way: You've got somewhere around six years of that look out of roughly 75 years and change that featured, mostly, his classic look.  Yeah, sometimes he's got a hook, sometimes he's got a water hand, and sometimes he's got a regular old hand, but that's a secondary detail.  You may as well say that Superman has a lot of looks, so it's fine if they cast an Indian woman to play him.   Ha, I know, that's a straw man, but my point is that just because a character has had some variations, and all of the successful ones have, that doesn't mean they don't have a definitive look.

That look is part of their identities.  This is a visual medium, after all, so it does matter.  Now, if they take this guy and put him in gold scale mail, at least they'd be splitting the difference.  Choices like this just speak of contempt for the characters, though, and that is what frustrates me.

Also, Spade:

Nah, he won't do anything.  Except be awesome.

[Starman]

Yeah, and Val Kilmer is also probably the most forgettable Batman, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

Even if that was the case, what would that have to do with his hair colour???

You've got somewhere around six years of that look out of roughly 75 years and change that featured, mostly, his classic look.

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern ... none of them have worn their classic costumes in the movies. I grew up with the Neil Adams blue and grey Batman. Superman's underpants on the inside "Man of Steel" look is only a few years old.

I'm not stretching anything ... I just don't have any blinkers on regarding adapting a comic book character for a movie (or TV. Old school Green Arrow fan). Bentongrey, you are looking at Aquaman as a fan and saying your personal favourite look is his "definitive" look. Comics are a visual medium but it's a different visual medium to film ... I'd be more concerned with the filmmakers capturing what defines Aquaman as an interesting character rather than what colour his pants are.

Consider the reality that Aquaman hasn't been as popular a character as the rest of the Justice League with the mainstream audience in quite awhile and, because of his perceived uselessness out of the water, has been a bit of a pop culture joke for years. The filmmakers have to overcome that ... they aren't going to achieve that with a clean-cut blonde Superman-type in orange scalemale and green tights, riding a giant seahorse and hitting baddies with an oar. LUCKILY, Aquaman has had a lot of visual iterations and they can make him formidable-looking enough to stand toe-to-toe to Zack Snyder's hulking Man of Steel Superman and the Ben Affleck Batman while still referencing one of his comic book looks.

Choices like this just speak of contempt for the characters, though, and that is what frustrates me.

No idea where you are getting the "contempt" from. It's in the filmmakers best interest to revitalize the character on-screen and make audiences take him seriously. If anyone has contempt for the character, it's the people who don't read comic books and only know Aquaman as that useless goofball from SuperFriends and all the internet memes that show inspired.

[Tomato]

Speaking as someone who is fairly neutral here (I like my Aquaman in orange and green, but I'm also not violently opposed to the casting) I think you're both being kinda silly here.

Benton- I know you're just getting your nerd rage on, but be reasonable here: we don't even know what this guy will look like in costume, we don't know where they're taking influences from. I hate the 90s shirtless costume too, but even in that era there were some amazing stories being told with Aquaman (I love the 90s JLA run. It's my favorite rendition of the league). All we know is that they've cast Momoa, and honestly... we could go back and forth about his acting chops all day, but I think the fact that they cast this guy at least proves they're taking the character seriously... and whether it's a great performance or not, if we get a serious Aquaman in this, that will go a loooong way towards finally removing the stain of the Super Friends Aquaman. We can worry about nuance when it comes time for him to get his own movie.

Starman- You keep saying it's more important that they keep the defining attributes of the Aquaman character, but then you say that they're better off basing him off of Flashpoint Aquaman or his 90s appearances... and I'm sorry, but I'm with Benton here: That is NOT the core of who the character is. Aquaman had some great stories in the 90s, but many writers kept portraying him as a poor man's Namor... which he isn't. And if my position on Flashpoint isn't clear from previous discussions, let me make it clear now: The Aquaman in that stupid reality is NOT Aquaman, he is completely devoid of honor and integrity and the fact that he allowed a war to break out over an affair he allowed to happen proves exactly that.

I'm not so hardened against MoS I'm not willing to see what's actually going to be done, but what you have suggested is exactly what Benton and I are afraid of.

[Starman]

You keep saying it's more important that they keep the defining attributes of the Aquaman character, but then you say that they're better off basing him off of Flashpoint Aquaman or his 90s appearances... and I'm sorry, but I'm with Benton here: That is NOT the core of who the character is. Aquaman had some great stories in the 90s, but many writers kept portraying him as a poor man's Namor... which he isn't. And if my position on Flashpoint isn't clear from previous discussions, let me make it clear now: The Aquaman in that stupid reality is NOT Aquaman, he is completely devoid of honor and integrity and the fact that he allowed a war to break out over an affair he allowed to happen proves exactly that.

No, this is what I said:

I think we have to like it or lump it that Zack Snyder's Aquaman isn't going to be the classic version, in the same way that neck-snapping Superman and (probably) Batman aren't the classic comic book characters. At a guess, he'll probably be an amalgam of the tougher bearded hook-hand Aquaman and the warlord-ish Flashpoint Aquaman.

Jason Mamoa playing an aggressive Aquaman, rather than the benevolent Silver Age version, doesn't equal a literal adaption of Flashpoint Aquaman with his entire Flashpoint backstory, motivations and attitude.

[HarryTrotter]

This is kinda pointless.Like I said Superman was played by an English man,and Thor was Australian and nobody cared.Why is so important with Aquamen?

[trebean]

Yeah but you can still see the core aspects of those respective characters.

While I am a fan of Hook Hand Aquaman in Morisson's JLA run and his DCAU counterpart, well that's not the Aquaman everyone knows, loves, and ridicules.
Plus Brave and the Bold Aquaman is the best representation of that Aquaman, they managed to embody the core aspects of him without having to add some "bad-arse" characterization.

[Tomato]

Spade, it really, REALLY isn't. The blonde thing is important to comics lore, but "blonde" is a much broader term than most people think. For example, this is still acceptably blonde, as is this and neither would look that out of place on Momoa. The whole "OMG He'd look silly as a bleach blonde" thing is silly.

Tre, I actually disagree with that... BatB Aquaman is, in my mind, too far on the other end... he's not ridiculous like SF Aquaman, but he also isn't meant to be taken seriously either. It's a generally positive portrayal, but not one I'd want emulated in film. Morrison's Aquaman is actually far closer... when I'm referring to more "Namor"/90s type stories, I'm referring to stories in other books from that same time period (The 90s was kinda bad about that). Much of his appearances Morrison JLA stuff was pretty spot on (despite the silly costume), but I also think the modern stuff by Geoff Johns in both Blackest Night and the ongoing Aquaman has been pretty balanced as well.

[trebean]

Well to my defence, there isn't really much representation of that Aquaman. Sure Superman TAS had his classic look but he felt like a carbon copy of Namor there to me...... then there's Superfriends. I'd say his YJ Appearance is pretty spot on but since it is a show focusing on younger heroes, he wasn't really focused much on. I'm reeeeaaaalllly hoping they get him right too on the Throne of Atlantis animated film.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Brave and the Bold Aquaman was an attempt to create an Aquaman that would be laughed at because he was funny and not because he was incompetent.  The best way to wipe away a memorable negative impression of something is to create a memorable positive impression of the same thing.  It was never intended to go beyond the cartoon and would never work in live action anyway.  I like that version of the character, but he can stay in that light-hearted cartoon where he belongs.

[kkhohoho]

Well to my defence, there isn't really much representation of that Aquaman. Sure Superman TAS had his classic look but he felt like a carbon copy of Namor there to me...... then there's Superfriends. I'd say his YJ Appearance is pretty spot on but since it is a show focusing on younger heroes, he wasn't really focused much on. I'm reeeeaaaalllly hoping they get him right too on the Throne of Atlantis animated film.

On Superman TAS, not so much, but when he showed up on Justice League, definitely. He looked like Aquaman, or at least the shirtless, bearded, hook-handed variant, but there was none of Aquaman's actual character from the comics; none of his personality. He was basically Namor with Aquaman's body pasted on. And don't get me wrong, I really like Namor, but Aquaman isn't Namor, and shouldn't have to be Namor.

[Tomato]

No, he was pretty Namor-y in Superman as well. And while he certainly had moments of that in JLU(The whole United Nations thing was very Namor), I would counter that the whole ordeal with saving his son by cutting his own hand off... that actually IS Aquaman.

[Shogunn2517]

This is kinda pointless.Like I said Superman was played by an English man,and Thor was Australian and nobody cared.Why is so important with Aquamen?

Well, they're white, Anglo and not that much of a stretch to play a fictional alien or God.  But you're not going to cast an iconic character racially different than what they've been historically and not have problems with some folks.

[HarryTrotter]

This is kinda pointless.Like I said Superman was played by an English man,and Thor was Australian and nobody cared.Why is so important with Aquamen?

Well, they're white, Anglo and not that much of a stretch to play a fictional alien or God.  But you're not going to cast an iconic character racially different than what they've been historically and not have problems with some folks.

Frankly,that sounded weird.And come on guy is just tan,not ... I dont know...green?

[Shogunn2517]

What's so weird about it?  Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavil, they are white.  Anglo.  Of European descent, Caucasian.  That's what they are.  Likely for far more than two or three generations.  That's not Jason Momoa.  His father is a Native Hawaiian.  They are of Asian descent. That's not a tan.  That's skin pigmentation.  His blood has a different level of Melanin than your or mine.  Can't just say the dude has a tan.  That's... Insulting.

[Tomato]

What's so weird about it?  Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavil, they are white.  Anglo.  Of European descent, Caucasian.  That's what they are.  Likely for far more than two or three generations.  That's not Jason Momoa.  His father is a Native Hawaiian.  They are of Asian descent. That's not a tan.  That's skin pigmentation.  His blood has a different level of Melanin than your or mine.  Can't just say the dude has a tan.  That's... Insulting.

...

Wow. Just... as a phlebotomist (IE: the person in the hospital who draws blood) that's just... ugh.

Ok, whole blood contains quite a bit, that's true. There are red blood cells (which contain varying levels of oxygen, potassium, iron, and proteins), leukocytes(WBCs), platelets, and plasma (which itself contains about 50 different things including sugar, potassium, sodium, protein, tsh, alt, ast, bilirubin, etc.). NONE OF THAT includes melanin, which is a SKIN PIGMENTATION. That's the equivalent of saying I've got brown dye in my bloodstream because MY HAIR IS BROWN. So not only was that comment racist (and despite your protestations, it kinda is), it's ignorant of some fairly basic knowledge of human anatomy.

Yes, the fact that Aquaman is blonde haired is part of his background. But it is ALSO a BIGGER part of his background that he is ATLANTEAN, which is in most typical depictions of the story, an island that was submerged centuries ago due to some catastrophe. Casting a Hawaiian, who are also islanders, is not THAT big a stretch here, and it helps to make the character stand out, ESPECIALLY if they do incorporate the blonde haired thing in there like I suggested. The fact that he's a blonde haired Atlantean is SUPPOSED to be off putting, that's why the Atlanteans cast him out in the first place.

[Shogunn2517]

Oh, I'm sorry.  Excuse my ignorant unscientific articulation.

You're right Spade.  Jason Momoa just has a tan.

[HarryTrotter]

I was just saying hes not...ah forget it.
Tomato has a point there,casting Aquamen as an islander is an interesting touch.
And Shogun,lets not take counting blood cells too far.

[JeyNyce]

I say this half jokingly and half serious:  You fanboys can never be happy, first you give Aquaman no love and then you complain when you don't like the actor playing him!!!

[HarryTrotter]

So...you think Green Arrow will appear in this movie?

[kkhohoho]

So...you think Green Arrow will appear in this movie?

Given that there might already be 7 heroes in this movie, if he did make it, he'd likely be reduced to a straw liberal; in other words, his only personality traits would be rebelling against just about everything, and going on about how the Government's an evil conspiracy and how 'THE MAN!' is always trying to bring us down. (JK. Well, half-joking, anyway...)

[HarryTrotter]

They said Stephen Amell was announced for the role,but it was never confirmed.So Arrow will probably not appear.

[BWPS]

Oh, I'm sorry.  Excuse my ignorant unscientific articulation.

You're right Spade.  Jason Momoa just has a tan.

[Reepicheep]

What's so weird about it?  Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavil, they are white.  Anglo.  Of European descent, Caucasian.  That's what they are.  Likely for far more than two or three generations.  That's not Jason Momoa.  His father is a Native Hawaiian.  They are of Asian descent. That's not a tan.  That's skin pigmentation.  His blood has a different level of Melanin than your or mine.  Can't just say the dude has a tan.  That's... Insulting.

Ok, whole blood contains quite a bit, that's true. There are red blood cells (which contain varying levels of oxygen, potassium, iron, and proteins), leukocytes(WBCs), platelets, and plasma (which itself contains about 50 different things including sugar, potassium, sodium, protein, tsh, alt, ast, bilirubin, etc.). NONE OF THAT includes melanin, which is a SKIN PIGMENTATION. That's the equivalent of saying I've got brown dye in my bloodstream because MY HAIR IS BROWN. So not only was that comment racist (and despite your protestations, it kinda is), it's ignorant of some fairly basic knowledge of human anatomy.

Not if you have dermatitis...

...

... and you're a lizard.



Also, isn't Melanin sourced from some of the Amino Acids in the bloodstream? Totally don't know for sure on that one. Which is why this font is so small.

[Starman]

What's so weird about it?  Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavil, they are white.  Anglo.  Of European descent, Caucasian.  That's what they are.  Likely for far more than two or three generations.  That's not Jason Momoa.  His father is a Native Hawaiian.  They are of Asian descent. That's not a tan.  That's skin pigmentation.  His blood has a different level of Melanin than your or mine.  Can't just say the dude has a tan.  That's... Insulting.

In which variation did Aquaman look like the Apache Chief?

Pot, kettle 

[HarryTrotter]

Are we seriously doing this?I mean counting somebodys bloodcells to see if hes white enough?

[Tomato]

Yeah... this is going in a very BAD direction. I think we can just end this topic and say some people are not happy with the nationality of the actor, and move on to another topic. I think we've had enough people shoving their foots down their throats for the rest of the year.

[Shogunn2517]

Absolutely...  But I would think you would know his NATIONALITY isn't the problem. 

That isn't what this is about.

[BentonGrey]

Yeah, and Val Kilmer is also probably the most forgettable Batman, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

Even if that was the case, what would that have to do with his hair colour???

Nothing...or everything?   Hah, I was just goofing around, but I wouldn't hold up anything from those films as a defense for good decisions.

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern ... none of them have worn their classic costumes in the movies. I grew up with the Neil Adams blue and grey Batman. Superman's underpants on the inside "Man of Steel" look is only a few years old.

Superman and Green Lantern were pretty close to their classic costumes, and Superman was DEFINITELY worse for the changes.   I'm hardly unreasonable, Starman, and I'm not pretending that everything translates perfectly.  Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man all had changes to their costumes as well, but they all looked like the characters they were supposed to be.  Those films brought those characters to life in a holistic fashion that we've yet to see from DC.  I have no problem at all with adaptation, but I merely prefer such adaption is accompanied by the love and reverence for the source material that pervades the Marvel films and acknowledges that these concepts and characters that have endured for over half a century probably have something going for them.

I'm not stretching anything ... I just don't have any blinkers on regarding adapting a comic book character for a movie (or TV. Old school Green Arrow fan). Bentongrey, you are looking at Aquaman as a fan and saying your personal favourite look is his "definitive" look. Comics are a visual medium but it's a different visual medium to film ... I'd be more concerned with the filmmakers capturing what defines Aquaman as an interesting character rather than what colour his pants are.

Hardly Starman.  Did you miss my comment about the roughly 60 years our of his 75 year existence during which Aquaman has worn basically the same costume?  I think that objectively qualifies as a definitive look.  Plus, for 75 years he's been blonde haired and blue eyed. 

I'm quite concerned with the filmmakers capturing the core of who Aquaman is as a character, but I have absolutely no hope that they will do so.  Whereas Marvel has earned the benefit of my doubt, WB has made me very, very wary.  It's hard enough for Aquaman to get any love in the comics, and the casting of a hulking gentleman with all of the acting chops of a brick does not exactly instill me with confidence.  It makes me think of the Namor-lite phase, which many of the others have mentioned.  While hot tempered outsider fighting "surface dwellers" is better than lame loser, it's still not Aquaman.  Now, I'm nto saying that this is what we WILL see.  If Momoa turns in a stellar performance of a great, subtly written and well-realized Aquaman, I'll be thrilled beyond belief.  I'm just not holding my breath.

Consider the reality that Aquaman hasn't been as popular a character as the rest of the Justice League with the mainstream audience in quite awhile and, because of his perceived uselessness out of the water, has been a bit of a pop culture joke for years. The filmmakers have to overcome that ... they aren't going to achieve that with a clean-cut blonde Superman-type in orange scalemale and green tights, riding a giant seahorse and hitting baddies with an oar. LUCKILY, Aquaman has had a lot of visual iterations and they can make him formidable-looking enough to stand toe-to-toe to Zack Snyder's hulking Man of Steel Superman and the Ben Affleck Batman while still referencing one of his comic book looks.

I don't know.  I don't think it's too hard to translate something like the classic Aquaman into an epic character that would work with just the elements you dismiss.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/arcticfox2635/po212-aquaman_lee.jpg
Ha, I think an Avatar-esq undersea epic with Aquaman would be beyond awesome.   Anyway, I think there's plenty of room for adaption without ignoring the source material.  Keep in mind, we haven't seen anything about the actual costume he'll be wearing yet, so this is all rather premature.  My point earlier was that, if they can't cast someone who looks the part, I hope they'll at least dress him recognizably as the character.  If they do, great, but obviously we don't know anything about that yet.

Speaking as someone who is fairly neutral here (I like my Aquaman in orange and green, but I'm also not violently opposed to the casting) I think you're both being kinda silly here.

Benton- I know you're just getting your nerd rage on, but be reasonable here: we don't even know what this guy will look like in costume, we don't know where they're taking influences from. I hate the 90s shirtless costume too, but even in that era there were some amazing stories being told with Aquaman (I love the 90s JLA run. It's my favorite rendition of the league). All we know is that they've cast Momoa, and honestly... we could go back and forth about his acting chops all day, but I think the fact that they cast this guy at least proves they're taking the character seriously... and whether it's a great performance or not, if we get a serious Aquaman in this, that will go a loooong way towards finally removing the stain of the Super Friends Aquaman. We can worry about nuance when it comes time for him to get his own movie.

Hey, I'm a big fan of the Morrisson JLA run, man, you know that. In fact, pretty much the only thing that bothers me about those stories is the way DC kept screwing with what he wanted to do.  He wanted to put the band back together, but they kept giving him editorial fiats, Aquaman has to have the hook, Superman has to be electric, no Hawkman, etc.  If I had a zillion dollars, I'd hire an art team to go back and redo those books without the 90s gimmicks.  Ahh well, c'est la vie.

Anyway, you're right, in that a serious portrayal of Aquaman could do some good for the character, and I said as much in my previous post.  It is a good thing that he's in the movie and obviously being meant to be taken seriously.  Still, I also point you back to my previous argument about the rarity of such opportunities.  This may be better than nothing, but it's a crying shame that we have to settle for better than nothing.

I'm not so hardened against MoS I'm not willing to see what's actually going to be done, but what you have suggested is exactly what Benton and I are afraid of.

Right.  I know that Starman didn't mean to actually use the Flashpoint Aquaman, but the Namor-lite version of the character from the 90s is Aquaman in name only.  Here's hoping against hope that this isn't what we'll see.

I say this half jokingly and half serious:  You fanboys can never be happy, first you give Aquaman no love and then you complain when you don't like the actor playing him!!!

I'd say that's a fairly legitimate complaint.  It's like if the plank of wood that is Kristen Stewart was cast to play Storm: Not only does she look nothing like the character, she's also a terrible actress.  There's no upside to that situation.  After all, just being on the big screen is not necessarily a good unto itself.  Did the Hallie Berry version of Catwoman do that character any favors?

As for the latest dust up here, awkward comments aside, it isn't racist to want an actor to be have the same look as the character they are supposed to be playing, it's just sensible.  I think we can all be adults when it comes to that conversation and realize that nobody is saying that the problem is the race of the actor, it's how closely they resemble the character.  I'd be just as annoyed if they cast Momoa (or Chris Hemsworth, for that matter) to play Ryan Choi.  

Anyway, we're suppose to get an Aquaman animated movie soon, so hopefully we'll get some classic Aquaman through that.

[Starman]

"I'm quite concerned with the filmmakers capturing the core of who Aquaman is as a character, but I have absolutely no hope that they will do so." Bentongrey, all that can be said is that maybe you should reserve judgement on your favourite comic book character's film appearance until you actually have something to base your complaints on. All of your complaints are based on a film that hasn't been made yet, an actor we haven't even seen in costume, a character who may just appear as a cameo, etc.

I don't know.  I don't think it's too hard to translate something like the classic Aquaman into an epic character that would work with just the elements you dismiss.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/arcticfox2635/po212-aquaman_lee.jpg

I don't think any filmmaker is going to have Superman fighting a guy riding grimly towards him on a giant purple sea-horse. That is something which looks great on a comic book page, not so much on a movie screen.

I'd say that's a fairly legitimate complaint.  It's like if the plank of wood that is Kristen Stewart was cast to play Storm: Not only does she look nothing like the character, she's also a terrible actress.  There's no upside to that situation.  After all, just being on the big screen is not necessarily a good unto itself.  Did the Hallie Berry version of Catwoman do that character any favors?

Again, the Halle Berry version of Catwoman didn't do the character any favours because it was a bad film. Period. It had NOTHING to do with Halle Berry not physically resembling the character. Just like Val Kilmer's hair colour had nothing to do with his role as Batman.

Hey, I'm a big fan of the Morrisson JLA run, man, you know that. In fact, pretty much the only thing that bothers me about those stories is the way DC kept screwing with what he wanted to do.  He wanted to put the band back together, but they kept giving him editorial fiats, Aquaman has to have the hook, Superman has to be electric, no Hawkman, etc.  If I had a zillion dollars, I'd hire an art team to go back and redo those books without the 90s gimmicks.

As for the latest dust up here, awkward comments aside, it isn't racist to want an actor to be have the same look as the character they are supposed to be playing, it's just sensible.  I think we can all be adults when it comes to that conversation and realize that nobody is saying that the problem is the race of the actor, it's how closely they resemble the character.  I'd be just as annoyed if they cast Momoa (or Chris Hemsworth, for that matter) to play Ryan Choi.

I don't think "a Hawaiian can't play an Atlantean!" is an adult argument, and doesn't compare to a Caucasian playing a Chinese role.

This is the difference between Chris Hemsworth playing Thor and Jason Momoa playing Aquaman: Hemsworth is a big, well-built, good-looking dude who has both worn a wig and dyed his hair for the role of Thor. He has white skin. Jason Momoa is a big, well-built, good-looking dude who has both worn a wig and dyed his hair for roles in the past and could conceivably do it again for the role of Aquaman. His skin is light brown.