If his Instagram is anything to go by, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is more than ready reprise the role of vengeful antagonist Black Manta in the upcoming superhero sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The former Men's Health cover star recently shared a shirtless mirror selfie from one of his workouts in preparation for the movie, showing off his chest and arm gains, as well as his shredded abs, and said that his Black Manta body is "back under construction."
Abdul-Mateen's workout for the first Aquaman movie was no joke; he spent two months pretty much constantly in the gym, doing up to 100 weighted reps on different exercises, and tapping into a discipline that ultimately helped to inform how he played the character. "He's annoyingly persistent, he's skilled, he will not stop until he gets what he wants," he told Men's Health.
Black Manta isn't the only role that has required Abdul-Mateen to get jacked. Back in 2019, he stepped into the shoes of an even more iconic comic book character—the all-powerful Dr. Manhattan—in HBO's Watchmen, a commitment which he described as pushing him to "another level of fitness." He also leaned down for one of his breakout performances, in Netflix's 2016 musical series The Get Down.
Abdul-Mateen's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom co-stars are throwing themselves into prep for the movie too. Just last month, Patrick Wilson, who plays Orm Marius, showed off the strength and muscle he's been building in a deadlift video where he pulled 5 reps at 420 pounds. As for Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa? He's taking on the biggest transformation of all for the film: by going blonde.
