Why Twitter's Aquaman photo has 'Batman V Superman' fans freaking out

Aquaman may be poised to surface among America's most preeminent superheroes with the first release of his new look.

Zack Snyder, the director of the upcoming movie “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” tweeted a photo of the Justice League hero Thursday night. Played by former “Game of Thrones” star Jason Momoa, the aquatic character has fans speculating his role in the movie, which will be released on March 25, 2016.

The photo features the phrase “Unite the Seven,” which refers to the seven members of the Justice League: Aquaman; Batman, to be played by Ben Affleck; Superman (Henry Cavill); The Flash (Ezra Miller); Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot); Cyborg (Ray Fisher); and Green Lantern, who has not yet been cast.

With the release of the Aquaman’s look, why are fans so excited?

“Superman V Batman” has had fans guessing about its plot and characters since they caught wind of its filming. Originally to be a sequel to Superman’s “Man of Steel,” it continues to introduce new, well-known characters, leaving fans wondering if it is truly a sequel or a set up for an upcoming Justice League movie.

Snyder, who has leaked multiple photos on Twitter of  the upcoming movie, appears to be taking some creative liberties with DC's stable of heroes. When photos of Ben Affleck as Batman were released, DC Comic fans noticed his look as “being more like Frank Miller’s drawings of Batman as an older, heavy-set, gritty, grizzled, battle-tested hero,” as opposed to Christian Bale’s most recent interpretation.

Amy Adams, who will return as Lois Lane, discussed the potential of appearing alongside “Fast and Furious” star Gal Gadot, who will play Wonder Woman. When Screen Rant asked her about the possibility of a love-triangle plotline between the two women and Superman, she expressed her hope that the characters can move beyond such a relationship in the upcoming movie.

“I hope that I can be involved with a woman on screen where we’re not in a love triangle. That would be fun. Maybe where we team up together and we work as teammates instead of adversaries,” Ms. Adams said.

Now, with the release of Momoa’s Aquaman look, it appears that Snyder is continuing to play with characters’ roles and how they are perceived. Losing the traditional green and yellow armor featured in the comic books, Momoa sports Aquaman’s “new, quite dashing, black and gold armor,” reported Movie Pilot.

Scott Mendelson of Forbes believes that if anything, the Aquaman's new portrayal takes advantage of a generational disconnect. New movie-goers are not familiar with Aquaman's "foppish figure of mockery and incompetence" role in "Super Friends," therefore they expect Aquaman to be an intense figure alongside other members of the Justice League. Mr. Mendelson writes:

"What is interesting is how much I’ve read about how relatively, for lack of a better word, 'bad ass' this new Aquaman is. And of course, they didn’t hire Mr. Momoa so he could look sweet and wholesome. Moreover, the notion that we should be surprised by how intimidating the character looks shows something of a generational disconnect. And that disconnect is actually Warner Bros.’ secret weapon in terms of the character standing on his own two sea legs for a stand-alone film."

Will fans embrace this new, and perhaps more intense, role? Snyder—and Warner Brothers—seems confident they will.