It's no secret that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has had something of a turbulent journey to theaters, shifting release dates multiple times amid rumours of disastrous test screenings.
The Hollywood Reporter just shared a big update about what's been happening, confirming a third round of reshoots took place this past June in New Zealand with Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson on hand. The trade goes on to describe this much additional photography as being "unprecedented" for any blockbuster.
Shooting initially wrapped in January 2022, with test screenings taking place over the summer. Between then and the beginning of this year, two lots of reshoots followed "several uninspired test screenings."
One of those resulted in Warner Bros. film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy getting involved, with the latter taking on a creative role by driving the edit of one cut. That version tested even lower and more reshoots followed.
Story clarity is thought to be the biggest problem, as is...Batman?!
Michael Keaton's Dark Knight was originally supposed to appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as part of his new role as the DCEU's Nick Fury. However, during the period when the movie was being released prior to The Flash, plans changed, and reshoots swapped Keaton out for Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne.
Now, the movie no longer features Batman at all. That's a result of new DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran not wanting to promise a future which won't ever come to pass due to their DCU reboot.
By the time more test screenings happened in February and April, Gunn and Safran were able to weigh in and approved that latest 5-day shoot (which went so well, it was completed in four).
Warner Bros. is spending a lot of money on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, primarily because they believe it stands a good chance of being a hit. In contrast, Blue Beetle's request for two days of reshoots earlier this year was declined, suggesting the studio doesn't anticipate it taking off at the box office in the same way.
Unfortunately, with Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash both flopping, whether moviegoers will want to spend more time with the King of Atlantis five years after the first instalment was released remains to be seen.
Here's hoping no one describes this as the "greatest superhero movie ever made," anyway.