How Aquaman’s Delightfully Bonkers Julie Andrews Cameo Came Together
BY LAURA BRADLEY (DECEMBER 21, 2018)

The DC Extended Universe has been historically shaky—and Aquaman, king of the Seven Seas, has a long and sorry history as one of pop culture’s favorite punching bags. But the superhero’s eponymous new film is a delightfully silly romp rife with winning, swimming charm, anchored by Jason Momoa as Arthur, the ultimate aqua-bro.

Momoa spends the film surrounded by a visual feast of bizarre sea life—including tentacled drummers and giant crab warriors. But as magical as they are, none can compare to Julie Andrews—who pops up late in the film to voice the fearsome Karathen. What, exactly, is a Karathen? Allow Aquaman producer Peter Safran to explain.

Although Andrews’s aquatic creature might appear to be some sort of giant squid, Safran says this is not the case. “The Karathen,” he said, “is a legendary, mythical creature from the lore of Atlantis that many people believe is purely mythical. Obviously, what we discover in the movie is that, in fact, those stories are true.”

Safran noted that from the beginning, the team behind Aquaman knew they wanted the Karathen to be voiced by a woman, specifically a legendary English actress. (Safran wouldn’t say who else was on their wish list, but indicated that they were the obvious choices: “You know—the great British actresses. You know who they would be.”) Andrews wound up being their first choice; as Safran recalled, they approached her agent with some pages and received an immediate response. The Oscar winner was in.

Andrews’s choice to play a giant sea creature, rather than cameo in Mary Poppins Returns, might strike some as surprising. But Andrews opted not to appear in Disney’s newly imagined Poppins romp because she wanted it to be very clear that that film was Emily Blunt’s show. And so, she has now taken to the sea instead.

As the Karathen, Andrews turns her soft, wise persona on its head. She oozes menace as the creature swims around, threatening Aquaman while hiding in the shadows—rendering her even more intimidating. Safran said that director James Wan and production designer Bill Brzeski collaborated closely on her character design, following Wan’s visions for her scale and scope.

Andrews, Safran said, recorded her part from the East Coast, where she lives, with Wan video conferencing in to offer some direction. Unsurprisingly, Safran noted that the actress turned in a stellar performance in record time. “She was fantastic,” he said. “She really nailed it, gave James everything he wanted, and that was it.” Perhaps it helps that the role was not actually much of a stretch for a formidable presence like Andrews: “You listen to Mary Poppins, and you listen to the Karathen,” Safran points out. “And if you don’t? You do it at your own peril.”

Safran said he doesn’t know if Andrews has seen the film yet, “but I’m certainly hoping that she’ll check it out . . . I’m hoping she goes opening weekend.” And might this splendid undersea creature return in future Aquaman films? “We don’t know exactly what the sequel’s gonna look like at this point,” Safran said. “But I have to believe that with all the work that went into creating the Karathen, why wouldn’t we have her come back in future movies?”

For now, though, we have to ask the obvious question: does this cameo mean that Mary Poppins is part of the DC Extended Universe? Or is Aquaman part of the Mary Poppins cinematic universe?

“Listen,” Safran replied. “We love the fact that if you want to experience the real Mary Poppins this Christmas, you can do it with Aquaman.”

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P.S. Remember last year Christmas? We went to the movies twice. Once for Mary Poppins 2 and once for Aquaman, because... Julie Andrews.

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