Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a sequel to 2018’s wildly successful Aquaman. It finds Arthur Curry battling against his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), as well as a new threat to the seas when an ancient power is unleashed. The film stars Jason Momoa as the titular superhero, alongside Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman. It’s directed by James Wan.
Plot
When the first Aquaman swam into theaters in 2018, it made waves at the box office, generating $1 billion worldwide. That success prompted Warner Bros. to bring back director James Wan for a sequel. The movie, dubbed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is set to arrive this month.
As the title suggests, this installment focuses on Arthur Curry and his half-brother Orm’s battle against an ancient and malevolent force. In the film, the two will need to put their differences aside in order to protect Atlantis and the surface world from ruin.
Wan has indicated that Black Manta, the villain from the first Aquaman who is seeking revenge for his father’s death, will play a bigger role in this sequel. Manta has a new weapon this time, a mythical artifact called the Black Trident. It’s unclear how this weapon works, but the implication is that it will allow him to bring an ancient and powerful sea-goddess to life.
While Heard has been largely cut from the picture, Wan says her reduced role isn’t tied to her messy divorce from Johnny Depp. Instead, it’s due to scheduling conflicts with Nicole Kidman, who returns to her role as Aquaman’s mother. Wan has also confirmed that Willem Dafoe, who played Aquaman’s mentor Vulko, won’t return due to scheduling issues as well.
Cast
The cast for the sequel to DC’s biggest domestic hit is mostly returning with James Wan on board as director. Jason Momoa will be back as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, balancing his responsibilities as the King of Atlantis and father to his child; Amber Heard as Mera, the Queen of Atlantis and lover of Aquaman; Patrick Wilson as Orm, Aquaman’s half-brother and nemesis; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, who is more determined than ever to destroy Aquaman and his family; and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna. Dolph Lundgren, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison and Randall Park will also return, with Indya Moore joining the cast as DC villain Karshon and Pilou Asbaek in a mystery role.
It’s been a bumpy ride to get here for the sequel, with the film subject to reshoots and calendar reshuffles in the wake of COVID-19-caused delays. But it looks like the choppy waters will be smoothed out for the movie’s Dec. 20 release, as Warner Bros. desperately needs a hit to send this era of the DC Universe off with a bang.
The only new addition to the main cast is Vincent Regan as King Atlan, who will appear in flashbacks and help shed light on the curse the Black Trident left on Atlantis’ seven kingdoms. The Hobbit trilogy’s Graham McTavish played the character in the first film, but he won’t be reprising his role for the sequel.
Visuals
The new trailer for the sequel is full of wild visuals, and it looks like Aquaman is in for some seriously intense action. The sequel will see the underwater hero team up with Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (William Dafoe) to fight off a new threat. The villain is Black Manta, a laser-beam-shooting supervillain played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Manta swore vengeance on Aquaman in the first 123movies film after the hero refused to save his father, and recent comics have shown that he is an ancient descendant of Atlantis’ Kingdom of the Deserters.
Director James Wan took a little break from the DC Universe following the success of his first movie, but the filmmaker returned for this sequel. He’s been through a lot with this project, from the Covid-19 delays to several rounds of reshoots. He’s held tight to his vision, which has paid off in the form of a fun, wildly entertaining sequel.
Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson return as Arthur Curry and Orm, respectively, while Amber Heard returns as Aquaman’s love interest Mera and Temuera Morrison reprises her role as his father Tom. The movie also adds to its cast with the addition of Yahya Abdul-Mateen as the DC villain Black Manta, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus of Xebel and William Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko.
Overall
After the first Aquaman earned over $1 billion worldwide, it’s clear that the sequel was always going to make a splash. While director James Wan took a brief hiatus from the DC Universe after the wildly successful original, and returned to his horror roots, he’s still behind the wheel for this film. He’s also bringing back stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Nicole Kidman as Mera and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta.
Unlike the previous movie, which had a more romantic arc between Arthur and Mera, the new film appears to focus more on the father-son dynamic between Orm and Arthur. This isn’t a bad thing as both of these characters are interesting in their own right and will certainly make for compelling story elements.
There are still plenty of eye-popping visuals to be had here including megatastic fantasy beasties from the depths, Lord of the Rings style flashback slo-mo battles and ornate and spectacular aqua-mech. But it’s fair to say that if Wan and his team weren’t so eager to show off the film’s special effects, they might have been able to create a more compelling story.
While it’s uncertain whether Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the last of this era of DC movies, it should be remembered as a solid entry that wrapped up the story of Arthur Curry. Fans will hopefully get the chance to see Momoa as the hero again in either a standalone movie or as Lobo in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s reboot of the franchise.
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