Aquaman 2: release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot rumors, and more

Aquaman 2 is looming large on the horizon, and DC and Warner Bros will be eager for the king of the seven seas to make significant waves in theaters. Five years after its release, the first Aquaman remains the most lucrative movie ever headlined by a DC Comics character – more successful than Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman – so the studio will be looking for a similarly impressive box-office return over the holiday season.

The new movie also marks the end of an era. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the final film released in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) before new DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran unleash their new line-up of DC movies and TV shows – starting with Guardians of the Galaxy director Gunn's own Superman: Legacy in 2025.

Can this underwater sequel send a decade of superhero storytelling – which began with 2013's Man of Steel – out with a bang? Below we explain everything you need to know about the Aquaman 2 release date, trailer, cast, and story. We'll also discuss reshoots, star Amber Heard's supposedly reduced role in the movie, and why one (or maybe even two) Batmen might be going for a swim in this eagerly anticipated blockbuster sequel.

Aquaman 2 release date

Aquaman 2 launches on Friday, December 22 in the US. Meanwhile, UK viewers will be able to catch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom a day earlier on Thursday, December 21. Australian DC fans will have to wait a bit longer before they can catch the movie on Tuesday, December 26. 

Aquaman 2's release date was originally set for December 16, 2022 – almost exactly four years after the first movie’s extremely lucrative debut. Since then, it's been through numerous delays.

As was the case with many blockbusters, VFX work on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was held up by effects houses becoming overloaded during the Covid-19 pandemic. Aquaman 2 has also been through several reshoots, prompting rumors that the production had encountered stormy waters on the way to the screen. Director James Wan assured Empire, however, that there was nothing to worry about. "We probably did seven or eight days, which is nothing for a movie of this size," he said. "It was just spread out because it’s so hard to get your actors back once you’ve finished the initial shoot."

Aquaman 2 trailers

We had to wait until September 14 for a full Aquaman 2 trailer, though Warner Bros considered its arrival such a big deal that it got its own 30-second teaser four days earlier – a marketing ploy that left us somewhat underwhelmed. 

When the official trailer finally landed, it was evident it had been designed to cash in on the qualities that made the first movie a hit. 

It starts off with Jason Momoa's half-human, half-Atlantean everyman Arthur Curry explaining how he's a husband and a father these days, and – as he grabs his gold and green Aquaman threads from his human dad's washing line – reminding us about his challenging day job as the king of Atlantis.

From there, it's a whistle-stop tour through the story, with villain-in-chief Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) monologuing his intentions to "murder [Arthur's] family and burn his kingdom to ash", and Aquamom Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) pointing out that "he must be stopped, or a global meltdown is imminent". Then it becomes an Aquaman and Orm (Patrick Wilson) team-up as the two half-brothers banter their way through blockbuster underwater action, and a healthy dose of plot exposition.

Another trailer released on November 20 provided a few more hints about the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom plot:

Subtitled "The Key", this new teaser hints that – as well as sharing his dad's ability to speak with the fishes – Arthur and Mera's infant son will be integral to the story. 

Black Manta confesses that he's prepared to "make a deal with the devil" to destroy Aquaman, before the trailer cuts to a scary underwater guy telling him, "Free me from my prison and all my power will be yours." Queen Atlanna then explains that the royal bloodline is the key to this as-yet-unnamed character's jail, putting Aquaman Jr in clear and present danger, and subsequently raising the stakes for Arthur.

Aquaman 2 confirmed cast

Here's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's confirmed cast:

• Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
• Patrick Wilson as Orm
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane/Black Manta
• Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna
• Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry
• Amber Heard as Mera
• Randall Park as Dr Stephen Shin
• Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus
• Indya Moore as Karshon
• Jani Zhao as Stingray
• Vincent Regan as Atlan
• Pilou Asbæk as TBC

In the wake of the first movie's success, it was inevitable Jason Momoa would return to play Arthur Curry/Aquaman for the fifth time (following appearances in Aquaman, Justice League (both the Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder versions), and brief cameos in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Flash). 

After Arthur showed mercy to his scheming half-brother Orm (aka the self-styled Ocean Master) at the end of the first movie, Wilson is also back in action. Nicole Kidman returns to keep the squabbling siblings in check as their mother, Queen Atlanna, as does The Book of Boba Fett’s Temuera Morrison as Arthur's human dad, Thomas Curry. Despite extensive rumors Amber Heard might not return as Xebelian princess Mera, her (albeit very brief) appearance in the aforementioned trailer confirms she's back, too. 

In terms of surface dwellers, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, The Matrix Resurrections) is promoted to lead villain as the revenge-obsessed David Kane/Black Manta. Going on what we saw in Aquaman’s end credits scene, he'll probably be in league with Dr Stephen Shin, the marine biologist-turned-Atlantis-obsessive played by WandaVision’s Randall Park (also confirmed to return).

As for the underwater types, we know that Dolph Lundgren is back as Mera's father King Nereus of Xebel – The Expendables star talked about reuniting with Heard in an interview with TMZ. It turns out, however, that Willem Dafoe won't be reprising his role as Arthur's Atlantean mentor Vulko.

"Willem is not in this one, no," James Wan told Entertainment Weekly (EW)."Part of the reason was because his schedule did not work out for us. But what that allowed me to do was expand on [Queen] Atlanna's role. Atlanna in this one ultimately becomes Arthur's advisor. Because Arthur's not from this [underwater] world, she helps him better understand the world and the politics of how things work."

As for newcomers, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) confirmed Indya Moore (Pose), Jani Zhao (from Portuguese TV series The Sugar Captains) and Vincent Regan (Poldark) had all joined the Aquaman 2 cast. Moore has signed up to play Karshon, a shark/human hybrid in the comics but – presumably to avoid confusion with The Suicide Squad's King Shark – something different here. 

"This Karshon is not a shark character," Wan told Empire. "It's different to the comic books in that sense. One of the things we wanted to do, now that Arthur is king of Atlantis, is give him barriers within the political world. Karshon comes from the High Council, and is like a political roadblock for Arthur."

Zhao will play a new character called Stingray, while Regan is on board as Atlan, the original king of Atlantis – a role played by The Witcher's Graham McTavish in the first Aquaman movie.

Given Pilou Asbæk’s history as a bad guy in Game of Thrones, we suspect his as-yet-unconfirmed role (reported by Deadline) will skew more towards the dark side than the light.

Potential Aquaman 2 cast spoilers follow.

There may also be an appearance from a Batman/Bruce Wayne, though it's unclear who'd be under the cowl if that does turn out to the case. 

According to THR, the original plan was for ’80s/’90s Caped Crusader Michael Keaton (who also had a major role in The Flash) to feature, with former DC movie boss Walter Hamada envisioning the older Bruce Wayne as a mentor figure in the mould of Nick Fury from the Marvel movies. 

But, for a brief period, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was slated to arrive in theaters before Keaton appeared in The Flash. To avoid the prospect of legions of moviegoers wondering who Keaton's Bat-guy was, the studio decided to shoot replacement scenes with Ben Affleck, who'd been the DCEU's Batman since 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. 

Wan remains non-committal on whether a Caped Crusader will appear alongside Arthur Curry in his movie, telling Empire: "I was asked to look at Batman stuff during that point where we weren't sure which movie would come out first, ours or The Flash, so yes, I did shoot Batman scenes." 

As for which one might appear: "I'm going to say, 'No comment on that.' All I'll say is those scenes were just to have something in the bank in case we needed to explain time continuity if we came out first. But it ended up with Lost Kingdom coming after The Flash."

Aquaman 2 story: synopsis and speculation

Here's the official story synopsis for Aquaman 2: "Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. 

"This time, Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction."

In the first movie, Black Manta blamed Arthur Curry for the death of his father during a submarine skirmish, and subsequently became obsessed with taking revenge on him. Having survived their previous encounter by the skin of his teeth – even when armed with superpowered Atlantean weapons – Manta's unlikely to give up until Arthur Curry is sleeping with the fishes. 

We suspect he’ll be aided in his quest by Dr Stephen Shin, a character who’s made the journey to the screen from DC Comics’ New 52 Aquaman reboot. During Aquaman's end credits scene, Shin agreed to help Black Manta find Aquaman – if Black Manta can provide him with concrete evidence about the existence of Atlantis.

"Now, we have a character who’s more mature, who has more time to breathe," star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II said of Black Manta in Variety. "And we get to understand him and some of his values and some of his motives. Hopefully in Aquaman 2, we can present a more well-rounded version of David Kane.

"In the first film, we sort of got to meet him, but mostly it was about Black Manta. And this one, my hope is that we can meet David Kane a bit more and find out what makes him tick, and some of the things that he wants and struggles with."

The newly powered up Manta has become such a significant threat that Arthur will have to join forces with his estranged half-brother Orm – aka the antagonist of the first movie – to take him down.

That represents a marked shift from Curry teaming with Mera in 2018's Aquaman. It’s been reported Mera’s role is greatly reduced second time out, with rumors rife that her part was cut back in the wake of negative publicity surrounding star Amber Heard’s high-profile court case with ex-husband Johnny Depp. However, director James Wan has said that’s not the case, and that Aquaman 2 was always going to be the Arthur and Orm show.

"This was always my plan," he told Empire. "From the start, I pitched that the first film would be a Romancing the Stone-type thing – an action-adventure romantic comedy – while the second would be an outright buddy comedy. I wanted to do [Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell’s mismatched cop adventure] Tango & Cash!"

As well as adjusting to being a father, the Arthur Curry we meet in Aquaman 2 will still be finding his feet as the ruler of the oceans.

"Arthur is a reluctant king," Wan said in Empire. "He's only taken the job because he's trying to stop the Atlanteans attacking the surface world. Plus, the Atlanteans don't trust him yet – they're not sure if he's on their side of the surface's."

There’s also a new faction to deal with, in the form of the titular Lost Kingdom. As referenced in the first Aquaman, Atlantis split into seven kingdoms when it sank, but one has been AWOL ever since. The new movie will introduce this new part of DC’s sub-aquatic realm. 

"One of the funnest things for me about this movie is designing the Lost Kingdom," Wan told EW. "We see what the Lost Kingdom is, we see this society, and within it we see the vehicles and the toys and the weapons and all that. Everything about the Lost Kingdom came from my love for the Silver Age Aquaman comic book, which is the 1960s comic book. So, everything about it has a very retro feel."

And there could be another significant presence in the movie, too – one connected to the "ancient and malevolent force" referred to in the synopsis. It seems likely that this refers to the incarcerated figure in the latest Aquaman 2 trailer, who promises Black Manta vast power in exchange for releasing him from his underwater prison.  

But who is this new antagonist? An early behind-the-scenes photo shared by Wan may offer up a clue:

As well as being the production title of Aquaman 2, the ‘Necrus’ mentioned on the clapperboard is big news. Known as the Black City in comic book lore, this domed underwater settlement has no fixed location, only appears for brief moments in time, and is ruled by Mongo, a self-confessed hater of surface-dwellers. He’d be a prime candidate to be this new baddie, while it's also conceivable that Necrus is the as-yet-unnamed seventh kingdom.

Whatever the identity of this new foe, he's clearly going to facilitate the escalation of Black Manta's feud with Arthur Curry. Indeed, the latest trailer reveals that he'll kidnap Arthur's young son, trash his home, and – as far as we can tell – leave his father, Thomas Curry, for dead. (Of course, if Thomas doesn't make it out of the movie alive, he'll join Thomas Wayne and Jonathan Kent in the pantheon of deceased DC dads.)

This would tally with Wan's earlier promise that Aquaman 2 will go to darker places than its predecessor. "I think the second one is a little bit more serious, a little bit more relevant in the world we are living in today"” he teased at DC’s virtual FanDome event in August 2020 (via Deadline). "I think that’s where it wants to go."

The director expanded on this theme with THR: "We’re dealing with issues like climate change. We’re not afraid to lean into that in a big way, because the Aquaman comic book, even way back when, has always been environmentally conscious. He’s always been someone who’s fought to keep the ocean clean, and it feels more relevant in the world that we’re living in today. So this movie has something to talk about, but it’s still a fun action-fantasy movie."

The future of Aquaman

Aquaman 2 arrives at a major turning point for Warner Bros and DC. It's the final film in a sequence that began with Man of Steel in 2013, taking in the likes of Wonder Woman, two Suicide Squad films, and Justice League along the way. If you want to catch up, here's how to watch the DC Extended Universe movies in order. 

Admittedly, DC has never been as good as Marvel at creating a shared universe universe for its superheroes. However, with new DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran preparing to take the franchise in a different direction with their new-look superhero franchise after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's release, this really is the end of an era.

Although – SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE FLASH – Arthur Curry made a brief cameo at the end of the Scarlet Speedster's movie, it's currently unknown whether there'll be further underwater DC action for the man from Atlantis.

Gunn and Safran haven't confirmed Aquaman's future in the new-look DC Universe (DCU), but Momoa seems confident he'll be involved somehow. "We have a special relationship… I wish I could say more," Momoa said at the Sundance festival in January (h/t Deadline). "I’ll always be Aquaman, and there’s a lot of evolution for that. So I’m not going anywhere and it’s very exciting."

A clearly delighted Momoa also said in a video tweeted by DCVerso that "I got some really good news, great news with Warner Bros. Wish I could tell you! Peter, I love you. James, I love you". He expanded on that in a March 2023 interview with Total Film, saying: "Peter [Safran]'s my producer [on Aquaman 2], and is a dear friend. I absolutely think Aquaman will be involved in the DCU. It's on, bro – there's no one bigger than Aquaman!"

The star echoed these sentiments a month later in Men's Health, saying he's "extremely, extremely excited" about his future in the DCU and that "there's a lot of badass s**t coming up."

In the wake of a curveball delivered by Variety in October 2023, however, Aquaman may not be the one being "badass". Instead, the outlet cited sources who claim the star is in talks to take on an all-new DC role as alien bounty hunter Lobo – either in Gunn's Superman: Legacy or a standalone movie.

That's undoubtedly intriguing, but if Aquaman 2 does similar business to its predecessor at the box office, Warner Bros are unlikely to turn down the opportunity to dip their toes in lucrative waters once again. While admitting he didn't know what Gunn and Safran are planning next, Wan told Empire: "I’d be open to doing another [Aquaman] if I got the same freedom I’ve had on these first two." 

With Gunn reportedly making liberal use of the DC back catalogue to include Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, and a Green Lantern in his upcoming Superman movie, there's clearly room in his DC vision for characters to pop up in other superheroes' movies. For now, however, Aquaman's future is one to file under 'watch this space'.

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