Aquaman (2018)
Willem Dafoe: Vulko
Photos
Quotes
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Young Arthur (13) : I already know how to swim.
Nuidis Vulko : Not even close. You have to forget all the teaching of the surface world, go deeper to discover your Atlantean instincts.
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[underwater training]
Nuidis Vulko : The ocean is not just our home, it is who we are.
Young Arthur (Nine Years Old) : You can talk underwater!... Wait, I can talk underwater too! This is awesome!
Nuidis Vulko : We can do so much more than talk. Being Atlantean is more than just being able to breathe under water, your body is equipped to survive in the extreme cold and pressure, and your eyes adjust to see in the darkness.
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Nuidis Vulko : Your mother loved you more than anything in the world, but she had to return to Atlantis to keep you safe. Her marriage to King Orvax was arranged a long time ago so she had to marry him and bear him a son, Prince Orm. But Orvax eventually found out about you, he became overwhelmed with jealousy and sacrificed her to the creatures of the Trench.
Young Arthur (Sixteen Years Old) : Are you saying they executed her because she had me?
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Orm : Vulko, my trusted vizier, you have stood by the throne since my father sat upon it. Have you any advice for me, as this war begins?
Nuidis Vulko : I have already given it, my king. But I will stand by your decision, as always.
Orm : My decision. To protect it... while you betray it? You think I do not know of your treachery, that you were ever loyal to my mother's bastard son, that you have spent years training him to take the throne from me. Do not deny it!
[guards surround Vulko]
Nuidis Vulko : I do not.
Orm : Why? I am pure of blood! I have dedicated my entire life to Atlantis! He wanted nothing to do with it! You swore to serve the throne!
Nuidis Vulko : I do serve it! Arthur may only be half-Atlantean, but he's already twice the king you'll ever be!
Orm : [to guards] Take him. But make sure he gets a view.
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[Orm is arrested]
Nuidis Vulko : [to guards] Take him. But make sure he gets a view.
[Orm smiles ruefully]
Arthur Curry : [as Orm is led past him] When you're ready... let's talk.
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Nuidis Vulko : How could you be so foolish as to let Orm bait you into a fight?
Arthur Curry : It seems to me that'll solve all our problems. I beat him in battle, the war's over, I'm getting home.
Nuidis Vulko : You're a formidable fighter on land, but here you're out of your element, literally.
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[Arthur appears at the Brine, riding the Karathen]
Nuidis Vulko : The king is risen.
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Nuidis Vulko : If we're going to prevent this war, you must dethrone him now.
Arthur Curry : I've already told you, I don't want to be king!
Mera : You don't understand! Once he is named Ocean Master, it'll be too late! The power at his disposal will be unlike anything you've ever seen.
Arthur Curry : I'm from the surface, no one's going to take me seriously. I don't even know where to begin!
Nuidis Vulko : By winning the hearts and minds of the people, by proving to them that you're worthy! And retrieving this.
[opens a scroll showing a drawing of a trident]
Arthur Curry : [shows off his trident] I already got one of those.
Nuidis Vulko : Not like this one you don't. This is the lost Trident of Atlantis.
Arthur Curry : Oh, another fairytale?
Nuidis Vulko : It's more than a story, it's real. It was forged by the greatest weapon masters in history. Crafted from Poseidon's steel for King Atlan, the first ruler of Atlantis. Legend says, the Trident was built with the power to command the sea.
Arthur Curry : So what happened to it?
Nuidis Vulko : To know that, is to go back to the time before the Great Fall, when King Atlan ruled over all that was, the Kingdoms of Atlantis were one. It was a time of great prosperity and technological advancement. We had unlocked the secret to unlimited energy at a time when the rest of the world still thought the earth was flat. But we became too ambitious, too hungry for power. The ocean swallowed us and Atlantis sank. But the very power that collapsed our civilization also paved the way to our future. It gave us ability to breathe underwater. And so, we evolved. Others regressed, became savage. And the king lived out the remainder of his days in self imposed exile. Neither he, nor the Trident were ever seen again.
[holds up a device]
Nuidis Vulko : One of our archaeological teams uncovered this a few months ago. It's an ancient recording dating back to the first dynasty. I believe it contains Atlan's final message to his people and the whereabouts of the sacred Trident.
Arthur Curry : So what does it say?
Mera : We don't know. The technology's too old.
Nuidis Vulko : The cylinder bears the marking of the Deserter Kingdom. You must take it there and retrieve the message. The clue to Atlan's final resting place is inside this.
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Nuidis Vulko : We invite you, King Nereus, to be the first to join King Orm's alliance!
King Nereus : As if we had a choice, Vulko! By law, you need four of the Seven Kingdoms to ascend and attack. The Lost Nation and the Deserters have long perished. The Trench? Nothing but animals. The Brine will never join you, and the Fishermen are cowards - without me and my army to convince them, your plans are stillborn. But I know what you really want. Once you've obtained the friendship of four kingdoms, you will be renamed... Ocean Master.
Orm : That is merely a title.
King Nereus : I'm no fool, King Orm. As Ocean Master, you will be commander of the greatest military might on this planet!
Orm : I am the natural choice to lead.
King Nereus : Are you? What of the rumors that there is another? An Atlantean living amongst the surface? One of royal blood?... You may sit on the throne of Atlantis, but your claim to it is weak. How can you possibly hope to unite the empire?
Orm : My mother's bastard has never even been to Atlantis! His loyalty is to the surf...
[explosion]
Nuidis Vulko : Surface dwellers! TO ARMS!
