The official trailer has been released for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a sequel to 2018s Aquaman movie.
The film stars returning cast members Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison, Willem Dafoe and Dolph Lundgren.
According to the official synopsis — Having failed to defeat Aquaman (Jason Momoa) the first time, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), 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 (Patrick Wilson), 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.
The film reunites the creative team behind the first Aquaman movie, with James Wan directing and co-writing the story, along with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who also wrote the screenplay. Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman himself and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, a writer and producer, also contributed to the story.
Also starring in the film is Randall Park, who made an appearance in the first movie, as well as Vincent Regan, Indya Moore and Pilou Asbæk.
It is scheduled to be released in theaters, in North America on December 20th, 2023, as well as internationally beginning December 20th.
Potential controversy
On another note, there appears to be some controversy surrounding the movie.
According to Variety, the new Aquaman movie is the first major project actress Amber Heard has featured in, since the heavily publicized defamation trial between herself and ex-husband Johnny Depp, which took place last year.
During the trial, Heard made a claim that her role in the sequel was reduced by the studio, because of the fallout from her divorce from Depp, which caused her to be subjected to online harassment.
However, as also reported by Variety, director James Wan told Entertainment Weekly that the Aquaman sequel was always intended to focus on the relationship between characters Arthur (played by Momoa) and Orm (played by Wilson), whilst the first movie focused on Arthur and Mera (played by Heard).
Despite the alleged reduction in screen time, Heard also stated that she had earned two million dollars from the Aquaman sequel, compared to one million dollars from the first movie.
