Ever since the DC films reboot was first announced on January 31, the remaining films in the pipeline have been something akin to a lame-duck presidency- everyone is anxious to move on and see what the next regime can accomplish.
With Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash bombing at the box office, how will Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom avoid a similar fate? Heck, Blue Beetle is releasing in just a few weeks but the DC fandom is deeply immersed in the next Superman reboot thanks to the recent casting of David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
Speaking to Comicbook, director James Wan pointed to the standalone nature of the first Aquaman film, which is the top-grossing entry in the DCEU having earned $1.18 billion back in December 2018.
"Well, Aquaman – even the first film – has always been a very standalone film. That was always our approach: that it kind of lives in its own world, and that's kind of how we've approached The Lost Kingdom as well."
"You know, people love Jason Momoa; people love him playing this role; and people love the action visuals of this space and this world. And that's what we're doing: we're taking it to the next level and we are still expanding – and just any fans of Aquaman the character, that love Black Manta, this is the next level and I'm very excited to finally put out there to show them what we've been working on all these years."
The critically-maligned, but fanboy-defended DCEU will end in 2024. The last movie in the cinematic universe will be Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2023.
After that, there will be a two-year hiatus with no new live-action DC films before the new cinematic universe, which will be overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, begins with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025.