Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Got Jacked For ‘Aquaman II’ (And Posted A Rather Classy Photo To Prove It)

The grand tradition of “jacked” photos from actors who play superheroes means that everybody wins. The Rock might be the king of these, given that he’s jacked on every occasion but particularly so while rolling out his recent Black Adam look. Jensen Ackles begrudgingly jumped into the jacked-photo game for The Boys (he’ll play Soldier Boy, a Cap type), and so on. For Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will return as Black Manta, now the biggest bad for the sequel, and to play that role, one must be jacked.

However, Yahya didn’t step up to the jacked mat early, unlike Momoa (who, like The Rock) is almost always jacked, and unlike Amber Heard, who did the lady-jacked thing to show off her own sequel prep for the Queen Mera role. Instead, the actor who most recently portrayed Dr. Manhattan bided his time and kept his game under wraps. He posted the opposite of a jacked photo to share script prep, but now, he’s ready. And that’s a good thing, since filming is well underway.

“Back Under Construction! #Aquaman2” the Candyman star wrote on Twitter. It must be noted that he went with an artsy, black-and-white filter, and it’s working.

Let’s get completely real here, though. Not every jacked photo can be as classy as this one. Yahya can also do the more traditional Instagram poses, too. Here he is while “kickin back, chillin, and celebrating the wins” of a long work week in July. More screentime for Black Manta is something that the fans will never be mad to see.

Aquaman II arrives on December 16, 2022.