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On Tuesday, Cartoon Network unveiled the first poster for the upcoming Steven Universe movie. In it, we see Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, all decked out in new outfits and triumphantly standing on a Beach City cliff. Steven looks a little older, a little more mature. Above them looms an ominous pig-tailed figure, a mysterious gem we haven’t seen before.
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Cartoon Network announced the movie at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, dropping first a teaser that ended with the villain’s eerie cackle and silhouette. Many — most of us included — assumed that the villain would be the nefarious Aquamarine, a small gem with a sadistic streak and a chilling, child-like laugh similar to the laugh in the teaser. Upon further reflection though, the silhouette looks nothing like Aquamarine and the laugh is slightly deeper and a whole lot more sinister.
Why did we assume Aquamarine?
At the end of the season 5 finale of Steven Universe basically all gems and characters Steven ever encountered were accounted for in some way, shape, or form — except for Aquamarine, who we last saw in space with Topaz in the season 5 opener “Stuck Together.” Even though the finale had not aired with the release of the trailer, most of the gems appeared in the episode “Reunited” for Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding, with the promise of White Diamond teased at the end. Aquamarine, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, so we just assumed she’d be the big bad of the movie.
The poster suggests that what we thought was very, very wrong. The villain towers over Steven and his friends. Her gemstone is an upside down heart. It could be possible that Aquamarine has fused with someone bigger ... but who? And wouldn’t she have Aquamarine’s gem in some way? But isn’t a heart just two tear drops upside down?
The (new?) character’s sleeves resemble Yellow Diamond’s armor, but we haven’t seen a gemstone like hers before. She also appears to resemble XJ-9 from ‘00s kids classic My Life as a Teenage Robot, but a crossover — however cool that might be — is highly doubtful.
Like most popular episodes, the Steven Universe movie will be a musical. There is not set release date as of yet, but with San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner, keep your eyes peeled for more info — and possibly a full trailer.
