10 Ways The DCEU Films Nearly Turned Out Completely Different

10. Black Manta, The Dead King, And Batman - Aquaman

Even though Black Manta is Aquaman's nemesis, he plays second fiddle in the live-action film while Aquaman's brother, Orm serves as the central antagonist. However, Manta originally had a bigger role in the story. According to the Fire & Water Podcast (Via ScreenRant), the audience felt like the movie was overstuffed with content, forcing the director to sacrifice some of Manta's scenes.

Also, when Aquaman attempts to retrieve Atlan's trident, he must prove himself by facing a sea monster called the Karathen. But in one script, the aquatic superhero faced off against a reanimated version of Atlan called The Dead King to prove he was worthy to wield his weapon. This was probably changed since watching Aquaman surfing on a leviathan looks a lot more cinematic than teaming up with a bearded water zombie.

According to some concept art, Batman was meant to make an appearance because... I mean, every film is automatically better by inserting Batman.

He was meant to fly through Sydney in his jet and stop Atlantis' forces from invading the city. This sequence was probably scrapped after DC executives became more wary about shoehorning in iconic characters to pander to audiences.