Veteran superhero actor Dolph Lundgren has been cast in DC Films’ Aquaman as King Nereus of Xebel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Xebel is an seperate underwater kingdom neighboring Atlantis, and Lundgren’s Nereus is described as a rival “who claims Mera as his own and wants to kill Aquaman.”
Nereus was created by Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier in 2012’s Aquaman #19, and was tipped to play a part in Geoff Johns’ long-promised Aquaman: Legend of the Seven Seas story-arc.
Director James Wan is scheduled to begin shooting Aquaman this May in Austalia, with a cast that inlcudes Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Temuera Morrison.
This report of Lundgren’s casting comes closely after Josh Brolin’s reported casting as Cable for 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool sequel. Like Brolin, Lundgren has held numerous superhero roles ranging from playing Marvel’s first-live action Punisher in a 1989 film, and recently playing Konstantin Kovar in the CW’s Arrow.
Aquaman is scheduled to be released in theaters December 21, 2018.