Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom sees Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry return to the big screen. Here are all the details we know so far about the DCU sequel.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to arrive in December 2023, and details about the upcoming DC project have started to be released. Jason Momoa made his debut as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, in 2017’s Justice League, before starring in the smash-hit Aquaman, his first solo film in the DCEU released only a year later. Directed by James Wan, Aquaman attained huge box office success and critical acclaim, exploring Curry’s backstory and investigating his claim to the throne of Atlantis in fascinating detail. Momoa would make a later appearance in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but his story will continue properly in the upcoming Aquaman sequel.
The development of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been beset by upheaval at DC Studios, release delays, and a high-profile lawsuit involving one of its stars. With future solo films for Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg nonexistent, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 canceled, and The Flash embroiled in controversy concerning Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman was considered the default linchpin of the DC Universe’s future. With a scheduled release date finally set for December 20, 2023, new details are beginning to surface about what story could unfold in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, particularly after The Flash’s reset of the DC Universe.
The Latest Aquaman 2 News
New footage from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was shown to attendees at 2023’s CinemaCon, which featured Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta wielding the Black Trident, a source of ultimate power, and explored the brotherly dynamic between Arthur Curry and Patrick Wilson’s Orm. While there were intense discussions over whether Amber Heard would continue to be involved in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom following her infamous legal battle with Johnny Depp, the new footage briefly showed Heard as Mera in the upcoming film. While the release of new footage is exciting, it might not exactly be smooth sailing for the Aquaman sequel.
According to The Direct, recent test screenings for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom have been received abysmally, with a trusted DCU source quoted as stating that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom might be “one of the worst DCEU movies.” These reports were corroborated when it was revealed that Warner Bros. had ordered reshoots and story adjustments for the Aquaman sequel. This might not be bad news for new DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, however, as it might create the opportunity for Momoa to assume a different role in the DCU’s future, as the actor has revealed he’s been eyeing Lobo as a potential future role.
When Is Aquaman 2 Coming Out? (Theaters & Streaming)
As with most movies in production around the time of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s release date has ebbed and flowed. Arthur Curry’s second coming was initially slated for December 2022, but a wholesale DC Universe reshuffle saw Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom drift to a new position of March 17, 2023. It was then announced in August 2022 that it had been pushed back once again, with the new release date falling on December 25th 2023. However, one more change would bring the release date for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom forward to December 20, 2023.
The most recent Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom delays were reportedly due to the need for more post-production VFX processing time. It wasn’t the only DCU movie to experience major delays, as Shazam! Fury of the Gods was also pushed back from its impending Christmas 2022 release. As for whether Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and other upcoming DC movies will have a dual big and small screen release, at present Warner Bros. movies become available for streaming on HBO Max after a 45-day exclusivity window in theaters, which means the Aquaman sequel would hit HBO Max sometime in mid-January or early February 2024.
Aquaman’s Main Cast Members Are Returning For The Lost Kingdom
The majority of Aquaman’s cast are returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will star Jason Momoa in the lead role of Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, the half-human, half-Atlantean King of Atlantis. Patrick Wilson will return as Orm Marius, Curry’s brother and former King of Atlantis, Amber Heard is returning as Mera, the daughter of King Nereus, and Willem Dafoe is also reprising his role of Nuidis Vulko, Curry’s mentor. Yahya Abdull-Mateen II will be back as the film’s villain, David Kane, a.k.a. Black Manta, and Dolph Lundgren, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman are also returning as King Nereus, Dr. Stephen Shin, Thomas Curry, and Atlanna, respectively.
Vincent Regan will make his DCEU debut as Atlan, the first King of Atlantis. Regan is replacing Graham McTavish who portrayed Atlan in Aquaman, and taking over from Julian Lewis Jones who appeared as Atlan in flashback sequences for Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Ben Affleck is also expected to reprise his role of Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, supposedly for the final time in the DC Universe. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will also feature Indya Moore as Karshon, Jani Zhao as Stingray, and Pilou Asbæk of Game of Thrones fame in an undisclosed role.
Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Story Details
James Wan’s working title for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was “Necrus” – a name fans of the hero’s DC Comics adventures will be familiar with. Essentially a darker Atlantis, Necrus is an underwater city ruled by a tyrant who seeks domination over the surface world, but the kingdom is unstable, only flickering into existence thanks to the positioning of an alien satellite. Necrus could be the “lost kingdom” of the Aquaman sequel’s title. The official synopsis for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom provided in December 2021 also mentioned an “ancient power”, which seems to be referring to a new weapon for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta: the Black Trident.
The new footage for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom not only revealed the existence of the Black Trident, but also confirmed an uneasy alliance between Arthur Curry and Orm. The upcoming film is expected to delve deeper into their familial relationship, investigating how these former rivals can work together to save Atlantis. This perhaps suggests that Black Manta will pose a much larger threat to Atlantis in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, diving into the villain’s origins and his hunt for vengeance against Curry, fit with a fresh, comic-accurate costume and a new army.
When Will Aquaman 2’s Trailer Release?
DC has already shown brief snippets of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom footage behind closed doors at CinemaCon, and given eager fans a behind-the-scenes trailer incorporating concept art and interviews, so one would imagine the first proper teaser isn’t far away. On the other hand, the subsequent delays suggest more time is required to nail the visual effects in a film that relies so heavily on convincing CGI, especially in the wake of groundbreaking underwater scenes in films such as Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. DC won’t want to release a trailer with half-baked visuals, so it can be expected sometime in late 2023.
Amber Heard’s Mera May Have A Reduced Role In Aquaman 2
The legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard became a phenomenon during the summer of 2022. Heard claimed the ongoing Johnny Depp controversy had pushed Warner Bros. to reduce her role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, even admitting she was unsure that she would be included in the final cut of the film at all. DC’s Walter Hamada confirmed that Mera would not be featured as prominently in the Aquaman sequel, and also admitted that he considered recasting Mera, though this didn’t occur. The libel case has since been settled, but the true extent of Heard’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is yet to be seen.
Arthur Curry Has A New Costume In Aquaman 2
Jason Momoa will don two suits in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The first is Arthur Curry’s traditional, comic-inspired gold and green ensemble, variations of which have been used in Aquaman’s past DC Universe outings. The second outfit is a brand new metallic blue “stealth” suit. This latter costume is based on Aquaman’s 1986 Neal Pozner comic run and, as the name implies, is designed to offer better underwater camouflage than Arthur’s traditional bright and glittery gear. Its inclusion in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom points toward some kind of infiltration mission, but the sleeker design also exemplifies the more mature tone teased by James Wan.
Aquaman 2 Uses New Underwater Filming Technology
It would be difficult to deliver an Aquaman film without underwater scenes, since characters are required to interact, converse, and emote beneath the waves. In 2018’s Aquaman, this effect was achieved by harnessing actors to a rig that simulates floating, before adding CGI water in post-production. Momoa previously described this process as extremely uncomfortable, which is part of the reason Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom uses a different approach. According to James Wan (via Cinemablend), the sequel replaced harness rigs with performance capture, filming with multiple cameras before digitally transferring these movements onto a 3-D model – the finished effect will be fascinating to see.
