Today has seen even more DCEU drama make waves online, and we're sure executives at Warner Bros. Discovery are eager for this franchise to just hurry up and end already. Luckily for them, it will with this December's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Newly anointed DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are spearheading a reboot set in the DCU, though it's confusingly going to include a mix of new and returning actors/characters (leaving even hardcore fans to wonder what sort of fresh start this actually is).
Regardless, while 2018' Aquaman grossed over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, production on the upcoming sequel hasn't exactly been smooth sailing.
We've already heard about multiple rounds of reshoots and at least a few different cuts of the movie, including a version of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom pieced together by Warner Bros. exec Pamela Abdy (it was a disaster).
Now, Variety reveals that the movie is still testing in the 60s despite multiple attempts to overhaul it. One insider says, "The movie is like this echo of regimes. It’s the last remnant of the Snyderverse, and no one really wants to take ownership of it."
An on-set source attempts some damage control by saying the sequel was finished on time, under budget, and with only a week's worth of reshoots but that sounds like a fabrication based on this and multiple other reports.
In terms of the impact all of this will have on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's box office haul, the trade says the movie is currently on par with the first instalment. That doesn't necessarily mean it will find the same level of success in the long run but it may avoid the fate of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle.
According to Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock, "Everybody’s down on DC, but there is a chance, especially with the limited competition during the holiday season, that ‘Aquaman’ could still play like gangbusters because of lack of product. Sometimes the right film at the right time is all you need."
In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, 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.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be released on December 20.