Aqualad Story You Brought Me The Ocean Set To Become HBO Max Series From Charlize Theron
Jason Momoa's Aquaman is already set to swim into theaters with a sequel in 2023, but having one water-based superhero in our lives just isn't enough. Enter Aqualad — a young superhero, who's still coming of age when his abilities make themselves known. Variety reports that HBO Max is currently developing a series adaptation of "You Brought Me the Ocean," the YA graphic novel tracing the origins of DC's Jackson Hyde, one of the teens known to take on the Aqualad moniker. The series will be a live-action, one-hour dramedy and has the following description:
The series will explore the life of Jackson "Jake" Hyde, a gay teenager living in New Mexico. All his life, he has had a strange attraction to the water and yearns to escape his desert surroundings for the ocean. As he explores his abilities, including breathing under and controlling water, he also finds himself falling in love with his classmate, high school swim captain Kenny Liu.
No stranger to graphic novel adaptions, "Mad Max: Fury Road" star Charlize Theron is set to executive produce, alongside A.J. Dix, Beth Kono, and Andrew Haas of Denver & Delilah Films are set to executive produce. Theron previously starred in and produced the Netflix film, "The Old Guard" and "Atomic Blonde" which take their stories from graphic novels.
Aqualad wades into superhero waters
Most fans of the DC lexicon associate Aqualad with Aquaman's Atlantean sidekick, Garth, or the iteration seen in "Young Justice," Kaldur'ahm. Jackson Hyde is a little lesser-known, but he's about to make a big splash as the headliner of this upcoming series. Beyond the description, plans for the series to debut on HBO Max and its list of producers, details for this project are scarce. No writer or directors are currently attached, but the series takes its cues from the graphic novel by Alex Sanchez (writer of the acclaimed "Rainbow Boys" series) and illustrator Julie Maroh, (who wrote and illustrated the novel later turned into a film, "Blue is The Warmest Colour"). So for a little more insight, we can look at the novel's synopsis:
Jake Hyde doesn't swim–not since his father drowned. Luckily, he lives in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Yet he yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown for a college on the coast. His best friend, Maria, however, wants nothing more than to stay in the desert, and Jake's mother encourages him to always play it safe. There's nothing "safe" about Jake's future–not when he's attracted to Kenny Liu, swim team captain and rebel against conformity. And certainly not when he secretly applies to the University of Miami. Jake's life begins to outpace his small town's namesake, which doesn't make it any easier to come out to his mom, or Maria, or the world.
But Jake is full of secrets, including the strange blue markings on his skin that glow when in contact with water. What power will he find when he searches for his identity, and will he turn his back to the current or dive headfirst into the waves?
"You Brought Me The Ocean" is as much about Jake's emerging superpowers as it is his coming-out story. The series will likely marry some classic coming-of-age high school drama with budding superpower hijinks, a la Spider-Man. While Aqualad's story could certainly connect to the larger DCEU later down the road, it could easily stand alone as a youthful story of a hero struggling with identity and sexuality. And a lot like HBO Max's "Harley Quinn," this could become a treasured series with its own merits, that doesn't need the rest of the extended universe to garner an audience.