Jason Momoa is the Doctor Dolittle of the Ocean in Exciting First Trailer for ‘Aquaman’ (VIDEO)

If DC's New 52 series taught us nothing else—and based on them retconning it several years ago, it didn't—it's that Aquaman is far and away the silliest of the major superheroes. The work that Geoff Johns did on the character for that series is a clear influence on the upcoming big screen solo outing for the king of Atlantis, which thankfully doesn't appear to be taking itself too seriously.

Following the one-two apathy punch of Batman v Superman and Justice League, the DCEU as we once knew it is in shambles, but several reveals at this year's Comic Con point toward them lightening up the mood substantially. James Wan's Aquaman—a film that's been in production since Batman v Superman was rolling out in theaters—will be the first major test for the franchise's sustainability in a post-Zack Snyder DC Universe.

This first trailer looks a lot better than many of us expected it to, and though it's just a trailer, it's obvious that this is no longer the same Grimdark nonsense that mired the series' early goings. As far as it taking its cues from the New 52 run, the villainous threat introduced in that series—The Trench—is making its debut in the film as sort of a tertiary threat to our hero. Don't forget, he's also dealing with his half-brother Orm, aka Ocean Master, played by Patrick Wilson, as well as the character's other longtime nemesis, Black Manta, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

They'll probably have to put their differences aside to combat the threat posed by The Trench, which admittedly isn't the most original idea in the realm of comic book movies—see any X-Men movie or Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Infinity War, etc. for other examples of this. I'm okay with a DC movie playing it relatively safe, however, when the character headlining the film is anything but a safe bet.

We'll all get to see Jason Momoa talk to the fishes when Aquaman opens on December 21.