Aquaman 2's Villain Storyline Borrowed Large Parts Of The Scrapped Trench Spin-Off
Today finally brings a new full-length trailer for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," a movie that actually finished principal photography way back in January of 2022. Since then, director James Wan has been busy dealing with release date changes, regime changes at the studio, various rounds of reshoots, and who knows what other headaches behind the scenes. One thing it seems like he wasn't lacking was material to work with, partly because he could fold story elements from a canceled spin-off film into the upcoming sequel.
/Film's own Jenna Busch attended a trailer launch event for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," where Wan pulled back the curtain on the film. At one point, the director discussed the canceled "The Trench" spin-off announced a few years back. It was ultimately scrapped but, as previously revealed, it would have been a secret solo Black Manta movie. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is back in the sequel and Black Manta will be the main villain this time. With that in mind, Wan was able to weave some of those scrapped "Trench" ideas into the sequel. Here's what he had to say about it:
"We had developed 'The Trench' movie and ultimately, like most things you develop, if they work out, great. If they don't, then that's fine as well. We didn't want that project to potentially step on the Aquaman films. But we came up with a lot of really interesting ideas and really cool stuff that I felt we can use in this one. With 'The Trench' movie, it was going to be a secret Black Manta movie. Initially, we announced it as a Trench movie, but ultimately we wanted to surprise the fans because that was going to be a standalone Black Manta movie. So when that did happen, some of those ideas kind of found [their] way into this movie."
Maybe for the better
It is not really that hard to see why Warner Bros., at one point, would have liked an "Aquaman" spin-off. After all, the original remains the highest-grossing DC movie in history at the box office. Abdul-Mateen II has also become a bigger star in the past handful of years. At the same time, things have been ever-changing at Warner Bros. and, more to the point, DC.
In the end, it may all prove to be for the best. The pandemic upended production schedules and if the idea was that this Black Manta movie would have set up the sequel, things might have gotten tricky if "The Trench" couldn't have actually been finished before "Aquaman 2." It's also best if audiences don't have to do much homework before seeing a superhero blockbuster. As for what we ended up with? The official synopsis for "The Lost Kingdom" reads as follows:
Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, 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, 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.
"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is set to hit theaters on December 20, 2023.