Aquaman 2 Will Bring Back Everyone’s Favorite Weird Character
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will feature the return of Topo, the drum-playing octopus.
Aquaman 2 will definitely be bringing back the briefly glimpsed drum-playing Atlantean octopus. According to an interview in The Wrap, no less of an authority than Arthur Curry himself, Jason Momoa, confirmed that the fan-favorite cephalopod will return in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, saying “It’s hilarious. It’s wonderful. You’re gonna love it…It might be one of the funniest moments of the whole movie.” He did not have further detail about how the octopus would reappear in Aquaman 2, but we are certainly here for whatever it is.
Although the octopus appeared for only a single brief scene in the first James Wan film, the sight of a giant eight-armed ocean dweller playing intro gladiatorial music for Jason Momoa to fight Patrick Wilson naturally intrigued fans. In the interview, Jason Momoa also expanded a bit on Wilson’s role as Orm in the film, saying that Aquaman 2 is “really a journey with the brothers. Patrick Wilson is phenomenal and there’s just a lot of themes that are going on in it.” The first Aquaman film ended with a careful truce between Wilson and Momoa, so it will be interesting to see where Aquaman 2 picks up from there.
The fan-favorite octopus was not named in Aquaman, but was confirmed by James Wan to be Topo, a mostly forgotten animal sidekick of the Atlantean hero from the Silver Age of Comics. Fitting with the general light tone of comics at the time, Topo was originally portrayed as a highly intelligent pet of Aquaman’s, likely in an attempt to give him his very own version of Superman’s Krypto or Batman’s Ace the Bat-Hound.
Topo was revived for the reimagined Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis series in 2006, this time as an anthropomorphized, near-human octopus warrior who acted as a companion and ally than a pet. Finally, in DC Comic’s 2011 franchise reboot the New 52, the character was introduced as something more like a sea monster that Aquaman could barely control with his telepathic powers after unleashing as a living weapon. It is possible that Aquaman 2 will bring its own version of Topo back on-screen as any variation of these or even something entirely new (might we suggest a scene in which Topo is a captive Patrick Wilson’s music teacher?).
The second Aquaman movie is one of the few confirmed upcoming DC Universe projects to remain after the ascension of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new co-heads of DC Studios. While Jason Momoa seems very certain that his role as Arthur Curry is not going anywhere after Aquaman 2, there have also been widespread rumors that he may be jumping ship to the rival Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor is also about to join one of the other biggest franchises in the world by playing a villain in the upcoming Fast X, alongside other newcomers to the Fast and Furious series Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, and Daniela Melchior.
However, before he joins any new franchises, we are just excited to see Jason Momoa and Topo back on screen in Aquaman 2.
