Aquaman 2 Actually Looks Amazing?
It’s an open secret that the past few years of DC movies have given us some disappointing box office bombs ranging from the ambitiously flawed The Flash to the bafflingly bizarre Black Adam. Because of this (as well as the fact that James Gunn is rebooting the entire universe for Warner Bros. in 2025), many fans thought that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would be as dead on arrival as a washed-up fish.
However, the new trailer has led us to a conclusion that we never thought we’d say…Aquaman 2 actually looks pretty damn amazing.
At a glance, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has several things going for it. It seems to be balancing the spectacle of the world-ending threats our titular hero must face along with his desire to be a family man with a son of his own to raise. This helps give the movie some of the emotional stakes lost in other DCEU productions such as Batman v. Superman.
Narrative callbacks to the first film may sound simple enough on paper, but we love that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom already seems like more of a real sequel than other DCEU movies.
Additionally, this seems to be a sequel in the truest sense because it builds off much that was established in the first film, including Black Manta’s grudge against Aquaman. In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the villain has a powerful new weapon called the Black Trident that presents such a great threat that our hero is forced to team up with his brother and former foe, Orm Curry, in order to save the world.
We also see the return of controversial actor Amber Heard as Mera, though her “blink and you miss it” moment in the trailer may signify a reduced role in the actual plot of the sequel.
Since the DCEU is about to sleep with the fishes, it’s only fair for Aquaman himself to guide the rocky franchise into its final resting place in the ocean depths.
These narrative callbacks to the first film may sound simple enough on paper, but we love that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom already seems like more of a real sequel than other DCEU movies (including The Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman) that felt more like soft reboots than anything else.
Fortunately, it seems that director James Wan has a solid understanding of what made the first film such a success (remember, it grossed over a billion dollars) and is following the tried-and-true formula of cranking the original film elements up to 11. The bad guy is badder, the stakes are higher, and the hero is challenged like never before.
In retrospect, it feels kind of amazing that we’ll finally get a chance to watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom when it premieres later this year. The movie has been delayed multiple times, first due to (ostensibly) Covid-related delays and later due to (presumably) all the behind-the-scenes creative shuffling as James Gunn prepares to reboot the DCEU with a brand new DCU. Now, the movie is on track to premiere just a little over a year after its initial release date.
In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the villain has a powerful new weapon called the Black Trident that presents such a great threat that our hero is forced to team up with his brother and former foe.
That James Gunn DCU reboot won’t hit until 2025 with the premiere of Superman: Legacy, which means that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is our final farewell to the so-called Snyderverse. Since the DCEU is about to sleep with the fishes, it’s only fair for Aquaman himself to guide the rocky franchise into its final resting place in the ocean depths.
Here’s hoping that Aquaman 2 is worthy of some serious buzz in theaters and aquariums around the world when it finally premieres on December 20.
