Word of mouth for the second Aquaman movie is terrible, and the situation causing this is all too similar to what happened with 2017’s Justice League.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is one of the last entries in the original DC Universe of movies. The sequel to the 2018 smash hit, the movie releases at a precarious time when the DCU’s future is unknown, at least at it relates to the previous movies. Unfortunately, the movie’s current reception seems to emulate one of the worst entries in the Snyderverse.
Reception to screenings of the second Aquaman movie has not been good, with most noting it as a steep departure from the first. One source claims that this most recent cut of the film was created due to Warner Bros. Discovery’s reactions to a previous version. If that’s truly the case, the movie’s inevitable failure would be far too similar to the 2017 version of Justice League.
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Aquaman 2’s Most Recent Screenings Have Been Poorly Received
Some test screeners on Reddit have come out with news concerning the recent screenings of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Those expecting something just as good or even better than the first are in for a saddening surprise. The reception described by these Aquaman screeners was especially harsh. Though a horrendously bad element would be expected to explain this reaction to the movie, the main criticism seems to be that the movie is incredibly boring and a vast decrease in quality from the fun of its predecessor. Another issue brought up in the above Reddit thread was that Aquaman himself constantly jokes throughout the film and never takes anything seriously.
Perhaps the biggest noted problem, however, involves the seeming story changes involving Mera. Aquaman’s love interest now seems to have a much smaller role than what was originally planned, and this forced the entire scope and aura of the movie to change. This was supposedly done at Warner Bros. Discovery’s behest due to the controversy surrounding Mera actor Amber Heard, and the required changes had a net negative to the film’s pacing and tone. While much of this is still speculation in terms of why changes were made, said changes all fall cleanly in line with a notorious DC Universe flop.
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Aquaman 2 Is Making the Same Mistakes as Joss Whedon’s Justice League
The DC Extended Universe — as the movies were once known as — have had a harder time achieving critical and even financial success compared to the rival Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was namely due to the criticisms thrown toward Zack Snyder’s DC films, especially the dour Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The particularly poor reception for that movie had Warner Bros. attempt a course correct, injecting a more humorous tone in line with the MCU into follow-ups Suicide Squad and especially the theatrical version of Justice League.
The latter film was heavily changed by new director Joss Whedon from the story that Zack Snyder wanted to tell, and the result was a lambasted box office bomb that was seen by many as a Marvel wannabe. Ironically, the 2018 movie Aquaman was the only DCEU film released after Justice League to achieve financial success, and many point toward the Joss Whedon film for permanently ruining the reputation of a film franchise it was meant to save. History seems to be repeating itself with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is having all the same problems. Not only has the story been radically changed from what director James Wan originally envisioned, but there’s also apparently an influx of humor and jokes.
This type of blockbuster writing has already begun to rub many moviegoers the wrong way with Marvel itself. Thus, a poor use of such humor in the next Aquaman will be particularly egregious. It also adds further credence to the theory that Jason Momoa will not reprise his role in the new DCU and instead be recast as Lobo there. If the movie truly is as bad as some are claiming it to be, it could end the pre-James Gunn DCU slate on the lowest note possible. That would be a shame considering that the first film’s success single-handedly turned around the reputation for Aquaman in pop culture, and the new movie being a historical failure could easily reverse that success.
To see how the sequel turns out, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases in theaters on December 25, 2023.
