Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: An American superhero movie from 2023 called Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is based on the DC Comics character Aquaman. The film is the 15th and last installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and is a sequel to Aquaman (2018). It was produced by DC Studios, Atomic Monster, the Safran Company, and Domain Entertainment and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie, which was directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman. While searching for the lost seventh kingdom of the seas, he must team up with his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to stop Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) from killing his family and using the cursed Black Trident to overheat the entire planet. Temuera Morrison, Martin, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, and Amber Heard.
During the first Aquaman movie’s filming, Momoa submitted a screenplay idea for a follow-up. Although Wan agreed to oversee development in January 2019, he did not want to rush a sequel. A month later, Johnson-McGoldrick committed to return as a screenwriter, and in August 2020, Wan’s comeback as director was officially confirmed. According to him, the movie would build on Aquaman’s worldbuilding, have a more somber tone, and address issues like climate change. It’s a buddy comedy starring Aquaman and Orm that draws inspiration from the Silver Age of Comic Books and has a nostalgic science fiction feel reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen’s animation as well as the 1960s horror movies, particularly Planet of the Vampires (1965). Wan revealed the title of the follow-up in.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Prepare to dive into the depths of a thrilling underwater adventure with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. With breathtaking visuals, heart-pounding action, and a compelling storyline, this upcoming movie is set to captivate audiences of all ages. Get ready to witness Aquaman’s epic journey unfold as he faces new challenges and battles to protect his kingdom. Join us as we eagerly anticipate the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a film that promises to be an unforgettable cinematic experience for fans around the world.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Details
| Directed by | James Wan |
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| Screenplay by | David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick |
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| Based on | Characters from DC |
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| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Edited by | Kirk Morri |
| Music by | Rupert Gregson-Williams |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $205–215 million |
| Box office | $434.4 million |
Plot
Arthur Curry split his life between the land and the sea, marrying Mera four years after ascending to the throne of Atlantis[a] and giving birth to a son, Arthur Jr. In the meantime, David Kane, also known as Black Manta, is still hunting for Atlantean relics with the help of marine biologist Stephen Shin, in an effort to exact revenge on Arthur for the death of his father. Manta finds a Black Trident that inhabits him after Shin unintentionally finds a grotto in Antarctica, with its creator vowing to give him the ability to destroy Arthur and Atlantis.
Five months later, Manta breaches an Orichalcum reserve on Atlantis in order to take the materials for his antiquated Atlantean machines—whose design is unknown to contemporary Atlanteans—and uses them to power his machines. Midway through, Mera is hurt in the subsequent combat as Atlantean forces catch up to them and pursue. Arthur finds out that Orichalcum, a material that releases large amounts of greenhouse gasses, has been employed by an ancient Atlantean kingdom that almost brought about the destruction of the earth. It has also increased global temperatures, brought on extreme weather, and acidified oceans. In order to find out where Manta is hiding, Arthur frees his half-brother Orm from jail. Together, they visit the Sunken Citadel, a pirate refuge, and meet Kingfish there to find out Manta’s location.
Cast
- Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman:
The half-Atlantean, half-human king of Atlantis who can swim at supersonic speeds and summon and command aquatic life, and is the father of Arthur Jr. with Mera. Producer Peter Safran called Arthur the “ultimate outsider”, explaining he “doesn’t believe he’s part of the surface world or Atlantis” and he never felt he belonged in either world. Director James Wan said the film was a true continuation of the character’s story from the first film Aquaman (2018), explaining that Arthur is forced to juggle his duties as the king of Atlantis with his role as a father while protecting both his family and kingdom. Safran said the heart of the story was that Arthur is a superhero who is both human and a superhuman involved in an epic battle with high stakes. Wan felt including Arthur Jr. in the film was a natural extension of the first film and contrasted Arthur’s role as king with the juxtaposition of his domestic responsibilities as a father. - Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius:
Arthur’s Atlantean half-brother and the former king of Atlantis who is stripped of his title as the Ocean Master. He is imprisoned in the Sahara desert by the Deserter tribe for assassinating the Fisherman King, with a limited water supply to dampen his powers causing him to bear a gaunt and scraggly appearance. Orm is freed from prison and recruited by Arthur to help find and defeat Black Manta. - Amber Heard as Mera:
The queen of Atlantis and former princess of Xebel, Arthur’s wife and mother of Arthur Jr., and King Nereus’ daughter who can control water.[16][17][18] The character is injured early in the film and recovers for much of its events, before joining Aquaman, Orm, and Atlanna in their journey to defeat Black Manta. Several of Heard’s scenes were cut during reshoots. - Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane / Black Manta:
A ruthless pirate and high-seas mercenary who uses an Atlantean armored suit and wields the powerful Black Trident, seeking to kill Arthur and his family as revenge for the death of his father. Wan said Black Manta’s love for his father and need to avenge his death take a darker turn in the film, with the character becoming more powerful. The director had planned while working on the first film to have Black Manta, who he described as having been a “glorified side character”, return as the main antagonist in its sequel, opting to establish his conflictive relationship with Arthur to give him a bigger role in this film.
Production
Star Jason Momoa created a story proposal for a follow-up while working on the 2018 film Aquaman, which he presented to producer Peter Safran and head of Warner Bros. Pictures Group Toby Emmerich. Before the movie came out in October 2018, Momoa stated he would be more involved in the planning of a possible sequel and that he anticipated starting production in 2019. Considering that Aquaman introduced seven undersea countries that had not before been thoroughly explored, director James Wan stated that there were multiple storylines that might branch off from the movie. Momoa received $15 million for his role in the sequel, and he and his producing partner Brian Mendoza prepared a 50-page screenplay that Warner Bros. purchased but did not fully implement.
By early December, Emmerich felt confident enough in the film’s box office expectations to start talking about a sequel. As Aquaman was about to become the highest-grossing movie based on a single DC Comics character by the end of January 2019, Warner Bros. was in talks with Wan to supervise the writing and development of a sequel, with the possibility of Wan directing it again. According to Geoff Boucher of Deadline Hollywood, Wan was “deeply invested” in the worldbuilding of Aquaman and had been quite protective of the follow-ups to his earlier films, Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013). Wan had previously drawn comparisons between the fictitious worlds of Middle-earth, the Star Wars galaxy, and the Wizarding universe and the universe of Aquaman.
Music
August 2021 saw Rupert Gregson-Williams make public his intention to return to helm the sequel’s musical compositions, having previously done so for the first movie and DC’s Wonder Woman (2017). Sung by X Ambassadors, “Deep End” was made available as a single on November 17, 2023. WaterTower Music released the soundtrack album for Gregson-Williams’ score on December 22.
Marketing
During a panel discussion at the virtual DC FanDome event in August 2020, Wan and Wilson gave hints about the movie’s ambitions.Reference 54 Concept art and behind-the-scenes video from the filming were unveiled at DC FanDome 2021 a year later. The first glimpses of the movie were unveiled in February 2024 as a teaser for Warner Bros.’ 2024 DC film slate, which also featured Black Adam, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Flash (before the latter two were postponed to 2024 the following month). At Warner Bros.’ CinemaCon event in April 2024, Wan advertised the movie by showcasing a short clip from the movie along with a recorded message from Momoa. Afterwards, after the movie was released, he shared more concept art.
The clip, according to Collider’s Steve Weintraub, was “absolutely massive in scale” and included multiple action sequences. On September 14, 2023, the first theatrical trailer was made available. Until the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike ended in November, the cast was not permitted to take part in marketing activities. Inspired by the watches worn by Abdul-Mateen II and Park in the movie, IWC Schaffhausen and Warner Bros. Pictures created an Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month diving watch.
Release
On December 19, 2023, a fan event screening of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom took place at the Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit pointed out that Wan and Momoa attended following a slew of small-scale fan events and blue carpet photo ops in Beijing, London, and Los Angeles, but there was no red carpet event or after party. The movie was released on December 20 in China and on December 22 in the US in premium large formats (PLFs) including IMAX, 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX. Warner Bros. rescheduled its release date from December 16, 2022 to March 17, 2023 after the COVID-19 epidemic caused delays in the intended release date.
Reception
With $124.5 million in domestic and Canadian revenue and $309.9 million in overseas sales, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom brought in $434.4 million in total revenue worldwide. While it took in less than half of the box office receipts from the first Aquaman movie, it is the highest-grossing DCEU movie to date.If the movie surpasses a $400 million worldwide revenue, Aidan Kelly of Collider predicted that it would still need to make $305–355 million to break even. Hannah Shaw-Williams of /Film disagreed, believing the movie would not likely break even during its theatrical run. Warner Bros.’ theatrical releases in the fourth quarter brought in more money than their previous quarter, according to Jill Goldsmith of Deadline Hollywood. This included The Lost Kingdom, albeit it was still less than.
Future
Warner Bros. was reportedly considering recasting Momoa as Lobo after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and discontinuing the Aquaman film series, according to a December 2022 Hollywood Reporter article. Momoa declared in January 2023 that he will “always be Aquaman,” but he thought he could do different roles as well. Subsequent to the month-long event, Gunn and Safran, the co-CEOs of DC Studios, announced that while Momoa might return to the DCU, an Aquaman decision was still pending. Momoa would not play Aquaman in the DCU if he were cast as Lobo because no actor would be playing more than one character. Gunn revealed that Superman, the first movie in the DCU, will be preceded by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash (2025).
After Gunn made it clear in September 2024 that any DC material published before to the initial projects for the DCU in 2024 would not be considered canon to that series, observers began to wonder if there would ever be a potential continuation. After a lengthy hiatus, Wan stated that The Lost Kingdom will help establish a sequel and indicated his interest in helming it.None of the major cast members from Zack Snyder’s DCEU films, including Momoa as Aquaman, will be returning to the DCU, Variety revealed the following month. On the other hand, Momoa was supposedly in negotiations to play Lobo in a Superman movie or a solo movie.