by Robin Klaiber on January 26, 2022

Intro

Aquaman, the first solo movie of the King of Atlantis, was released in 2018 and has since become the most successful DC film of all time with box office takings of 1.1 billion US dollars. It quickly became clear that a second part was in the making, and this year, at last, the time has come: "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" will be released in theaters. However, there are still many questions surrounding the plot. That's why we sat down and summarized everything important about it for you guys. Based on some of the statements made by the producers, it is possible to figure out quite a bit of the storyline.

What Happened So Far

In case you don't remember exactly what the first film was about, here's a little recap: If you haven't seen the movie yet and want to avoid spoilers, you should skip ahead to the next chapter.

Arthur Curry is born as the son of Atlanna, the queen of Atlantis, and Thomas Curry. Half human, half Atlantean, he is eligible to ascend the throne of Atlantis, even though he has no interest in doing so for a long time. Yet, one year after the events surrounding "Justice League", his half-brother Orm decides to unite the six underwater kingdoms and start a war against the humans who have been polluting the world's oceans for decades. Wanting to stop him, Arthur challenges him in a duel for the crown, which he loses and only barely escapes with his life. He only manages to survive with the help of the fighter Mera. The two set out to find the trident of Atlan, the first king of Atlantis, whose owner is the ruler of all seas. In order to prevent this, Orm sets the pirate David Kane alias Black Manta on them. The latter has a score to settle with Arthur, since he believes Aquaman to be responsible for the death of his father. He fails, however, and so Arthur and Mera find a wormhole in the depths of the ocean of the Trench, which takes them to the hidden sea in the center of the Earth. There they discover not only the trident, but also Arthur's mother, who was presumed dead and was sacrificed to the Trench by the Atlanteans. Together with the trident and a huge army of sea creatures, they now face Orm and his hosts. This time around, Aquaman wins, but spares the life of his half-brother after he promises to support him upon learning that his mother is still alive. In the end, Atlanna returns to Arthur's father at the surface, while Arthur and Mera ascend to the throne.

Cast

There are constantly fresh news about the cast. Of course, we know of many familiar actors who will again play an important role, but also interesting new ones are being announced over and over again. Among them is someone who was already considered a terror of the seas in other series.

Old Acquaintances

It's a given that Jason Momoa will once again take on the role of Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. He was certainly partly responsible for the success of the first movie, which clearly stood out from the otherwise rather weak DCEU film adaptations. Especially when you see the portrayals of Aquaman in the comics, Momoa makes a successful change. He will also be joined by Amber Heard in the role of Mera. She will surely have a lot to do in order to help him out of some of his troubles. Further confirmed is Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna and Star Wars star Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry. What kind of importance their roles will have, however, is not yet clear. Arthur's half-brother Orm, known as Ocean Master, is also back. He will of course be played by Patrick Wilson again. Whether he fights at Aquaman's side as promised or forges his own plans is something we will probably only see on the big screen. We have also already seen a villain in the mid-credit scene of the first part, namely Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane, better known as Black Manta. Likewise returning is Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, the father of Mera. He had joined Orm for much of the first film, but switched sides when he saw Aquaman with the first king's trident. Atlan, the king of Atlantis, was previously introduced as a character, but has been recast. He sank the city thousands of years ago in an accident and went into exile afterwards. In the previous sequences he was played by Graham McTavish. Now, however, Vincent Regan is taking over the part. We doubt that he will have a big role. We rather suspect further flashbacks like in the first part.

New Bad Guys

As we could already see in the mid credit scene, there is a new villain, namely Dr. Stephen Shin, played by Randall Park. In the scene, he pulls the half-dead David Kane out of the sea. When Kane wakes up, he is already in Shin's lab. Shin demands to know where Atlantis is and promises Black Manta to help him with his revenge in exchange for the information. This Stephen Shin should not be too unknown to the comic readers among you. In fact, in the comics he is a friend of Arthur and his father. However, it results in a break after the two are unwilling to reveal anything about Atlantis to the scientist. Also to appear is Karshon, the tiger shark, which mutated in an atomic explosion and is actually considered an adversary of Green Lantern. How big the role will be or whether the villain is only being teased is unfortunately not yet known. The shark is played by Indya Moore, who is known from the US series "Pose".

New Allies

But Arthur Curry won't have to face all the baddies alone. A new hero will also make his debut: We are talking about Stingray, who is a member of the Light Brigade in the comics. The new hero will be played by Jani Zhao, who is still relatively unknown in Hollywood. The Portuguese actress has previously appeared mostly in local productions. All the more reason to look forward to her debut in Hollywood and her new role in the DCEU.

From the Iron Islands to the DCEU

However, there is another newcomer we are most excited about, and that is none other than Euron Greyjoy actor Pilou Asbæk. He has already sailed the seas in "Game of Thrones" and is known there as a notorious sailor. He is one of the few actors for whose role not even a name is known. However, we hope to see him back in his old manner, namely as a scoundrel and womanizer. He has already demonstrated that this kind of role really suits him.

Production

Already shortly after the release of the first part, a second one was announced by DC. In January 2020, the release date was set for December 2022, with James Wan and David Leslie Johnson writing the script and directing, as they did in the first part. Even before filming began, there was wild discussion about the role of Mera. Amber Heard was alleged to have falsified evidence in her trial with Johnny Depp and as a result, a petition with 1.6 million signatures was submitted that the role should be recast. One name that was read time and time again was Emilia Clarke. In the end, though, the cast remained the same as in the first movie. With the beginning of the pandemic, the start of shooting for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" was also delayed, but the team still managed to complete the film in the allotted time, so that so far at least, the release date has not been postponed. The premiere is expected to be on December 16, 2022.

Plot

Unfortunately, not much is known about the storyline yet. We are eagerly waiting for the first trailer. Thus, the story we are describing is pure theory and not confirmed by anyone. Based on the title, a possible plot can be put together anyways. As the title "and the Lost Kingdom" already reveals, it is about... well, a lost kingdom. It might be possible that this very kingdom is not Atlantis, but some other kingdom. Perhaps Dr. Stephen Shin stumbled upon it during his research on the underwater city and discovered former enemies of Atlantis. Together with Kane he could now go in search of this civilization in order to bring them back into a war with Atlantis. Pilou Asbæk, who could possibly lead the alien kingdom, might also play a major role. According to James Wan, "Aquaman 2" is supposed to be spookier again. The "Lost Kingdom" could possibly be located in the depths of the Trench Kingdom. After all, that's where the portal to Atlan's trident was situated.

It is also conceivable that Arthur will not be able to fight against this force on his own and will seek help from his brother. The latter seems to have reformed after learning that their mother is still alive. If Black Manta is serious about his revenge, it might also be a possibility that he hunts down Aquaman's father. In this way, he would pay Arthur back in kind, since he believes him to be responsible for his father's death. What all this will really look like is something we will all find out in December. The excitement is definitely there already!

Outro

Alright, that's it everyone, that was all the information we got about "Aquaman 2". Which newcomer are you looking forward to the most and what role do you want Pilou Asbæk to play? Let us know in the comments! If you don't want to miss any news around Aquaman until the premiere, be sure to subscribe to our weekly movie news. See you soon!