Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be released next December, and shooting on the DC Comics sequel is already underway. Very little has been revealed about the movie, though we know the spotlight is going to remain on Arthur Curry, Mera, Black Manta, and Orm as their respective stories continue.
Talking to IGN, director James Wan explained that the opportunity to return to those characters was what drew him to an Aquaman follow-up. Revealing that it was his aim to "[find] a story that I think is worthy and if not better than the first movie," he added: "I helped shape and create these characters that I eventually fall in love with, and I feel like I'm not done with them yet. So I feel like I owe them one more story from me."
The filmmaker would go to say that he was particularly excited to "continue the next chapter of Arthur Curry's story, and Orm's story, and Mera's story, and Black Manta's story," and credits screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick for "finding a really cool story to bring all these characters back, and then growing them in a big way, and taking them to the next level or the next chapter of their lives."
Clearly, Wan has ambitious plans for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and it's thought that the titular lost kingdom will be Necrus, a domain ruled over by relatively obscure villain, Mongo.
Of course, with Black Manta expected to take centre stage as the movie's big bad, we're not expecting Mongo to factor too heavily into proceedings, as it's been clear from the start that Aquaman was meant to set the stage for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to take on a much larger role in the sequel.
Fingers crossed more is revealed during DC FanDome in October.