DC and Warner Bros’ upcoming movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will again star Jason Momoa as the titular character, as well as Patrick Wilson as Orm, Amber Heard as Mera, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus and Randall Park as Dr Stephen Shin.
The official synopsis of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom reads:
“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.”
When is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom out?
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023. Cameras officially started rolling in July 2021, which was revealed by Momoa on his Instagram, when he first landed in London to start filming. Production wrapped in January 2022 and the film is said to have gone through three sets of reshoots.
Is Amber Heard in the film?
Amber Heard has been confirmed as Momoa’s co-star. However, during her trial with Johnny Depp, Heard testified that she nearly lost her role in Aquaman because of the media firestorm around her legal battles with Depp. However, the then-president of Warner Bros Pictures claimed that Heard was almost recast due to a lack of onscreen chemistry between her and Momoa rather than because of the Depp controversy.
On Saturday, September 16, the first trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was released. However, Amber Heard barely features, as Mera is only seen for a split second thumping on a glass window underwater. The relationship between Mera and Jason Momoa’s titular superhero was the main focus of the 2018 original movie.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly; however, director James Wan indicated that Mera was never going to be a major part of Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.
Wan explained that the role of Mera wasn’t “pared down” due to studio pressure, and instead that Mera was never meant to be the focus of the sequel.
He said in the interview: “I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and [his half-brother] Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
Who else is in the film?
The Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cast as it stands is:
- Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
- Amber Heard as Mera
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane/Black Manta
- Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna
- Patrick Wilson as Orm
- Randall Park as Dr Stephen Shin
- Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus
- Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry
- Indya Moore as Karshon
- Jani Zhao as Stingray
- Vincent Regan as Atlan
- Pilou Asbæk TBC
