After the success of James Wan’s Aquaman, which is still DC’s most successful film to date (for now), a sequel was all but inevitable. And as expected, Warner Bros. officially announced back in February that Aquaman 2 is on the way. However, in a surprising move, Aquaman 2 won’t be hitting theaters until 2022. Nevertheless, we are inching closer to booking a return trip to Atlantis, and we now have an idea when Aquaman 2 should finally start filming.
According to Variety, Warner Bros. is looking to start filming Aquaman 2 in early 2021 in advance of the film’s December 2022 release date. So if all goes according to plan, the sequel film starring Jason Momoa will go before cameras in a little over a year or so. That’s still a long ways off, but with a rough shooting timeline in mind, it seems things are moving forward and that Warner Bros. has a plan for Aquaman 2.
The Variety article also notes that DC has tapped James Wan to return to direct the highly successful 2018 film's sequel. When we first heard that Aquaman 2 was in development, the catch was that it wasn’t clear what James Wan’s involvement in the sequel would be, and whether or not he’d return to the director’s chair or take a backseat and assume more of a producer role, as he has done with The Conjuring series.
It was expected that he would return, but not a certainty. So while it’s not entirely clear based on this report if Warner Bros. and DC have a firm, signed deal in place for James Wan to direct Aquaman 2 or whether that’s just what's predicted to happen, it would seem that is what the studio wants and things are trending in that direction.
That’s good news for fans of James Wan and those who loved the first Aquaman. However, the director is returning to his horror roots before he returns to Atlantis for his new movie Malignant, which is due out next summer. When he finishes that, he can dive back in for Aquaman 2 and get things ready to start shooting in early 2021.
One encouraging sign that Aquaman 2 will proceed as scheduled is Aquaman screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick will also be penning the follow-up, and he definitely has some time to get the script right. It also seems like there is a clear idea of where Aquaman 2 is going based on comments from Jason Momoa.
The actor who plays Arthur Curry has teased that the story of Aquaman 2 is already locked down and that it will be way bigger than the already massive first film. So with many of the pieces already in place, it looks like it’s now just a waiting game as the film gears up to start shooting in 2021. I imagine sometime perhaps towards the middle of next year and into the fall we’ll start hearing about new additions to the cast.
Aquaman 2 is coming, and with the roll DC is on and all the things it has in the works, the future looks bright.
Aquaman 2 dives into theaters on December 16, 2022. To see what’s hitting theaters next year, check out our 2020 Release Schedule.
