Comic book movies continue to be produced in quick succession, with multiple studios having their own cinematic universe. While the MCU is going strong, the next upcoming DC movie is Aquaman 2, which will be the final installment of the DCEU as we know it. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan recently discussed the movie’s horror influences, and now I’m even more excited for the DC sequel. Bring on the underwater jumpscares!
Filmmaker James Wan is horror royalty, known for his work on Saw, The Conjuring and more. But he’s also done genre work in blockbusters like Furious 7 and (of course) Aquaman. His DC sequel has been a long time coming, and fans are eager to see how it all shakes out. Wan spoke to Empire about how his horror roots continue to influence the Aquaman franchise, offering:
There was an element of horror in the first film. But this second movie definitely has more of that.
Honestly, sign me up. As hardcore horror buff, I love when the genre ends up factoring into other types of movies. And since Wan is a master of tension and fear, I can’t wait to see how it influenced the events of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Luckily it’ll be released fairly soon.
This news is sure to be exciting for fans of both horror and the Aquaman franchise. The first movie brought the scares with the Trench sequences, which featured terrifying deep sea monsters. A Trench spinoff was originally announced, but those plans were eventually scrapped. But perhaps Wan is going to use those concepts during the sequence he’s teasing for Aquaman 2. In his same interview, he spoke about how classic horror influenced the visual language of the DC sequel, saying:
That became the design foundation. The Lost Kingdom has a very retro, ‘60s horror look. … We have this huge action set-piece where Arthur and Orm fight [Black Manta’s] henchmen, using the ‘Octobot’ – this mechanical squid thing. That was really fun to shoot.
Is it December yet? Aquaman 2 has been delayed a number of times over the years, to the dismay of moviegoers. But news about how much horror is influencing the project might help to reignite excitement about the blockbuster. That and the ongoing discourse surrounding Amber Heard’s role as Mera.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Director: James Wan
Writer: David Leslie Johnson
Cast: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman
Release Date/Platform: December 20th in theaters.
The odds might be stacked against Aquaman 2 regarding how well it’ll ultimately perform at the box office. Namely because new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are creating a new version of the DC Universe. Jason Momoa might be playing a new role, which might result in waning interest in seeing The Lost Kingdom. Indeed, movies like The Flash failed to perform at the box office.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.