Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Footage Reaction: Aquaman And Ocean Master Are Back, Baby! [CinemaCon 2022]
If you were missing Jason Momoa's hair artfully swirling around in the ocean, we have good news! /Film is covering CinemaCon 2022 in Las Vegas, and today brings a new glimpse at "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" from Warner Bros. Pictures. We don't know a ton about the film yet, though we do know that it was moved from December 16, 2022 to March 2023, meaning it won't be going up against "Avatar 2" at the box office like the "Shazam!" sequel.
James Wan is back to direct the new film, which stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, Patrick Wilson as his brother Orm, aka Ocean Master, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Amber Heard as Mera, Dolph Lundgren as Kin Nereus, Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin, Vincent Regan as Atlan, Jane Zhao as Stingray, Indya Moore as Karshon, and Pilou Asbæk in an unnamed role.
But you came here to find out about the new "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" footage, so let's get into it.
Lord of the Fishes
Aquaman himself, star Jason Momoa, sent a message from London to the crowd in Vegas at CinemaCon, saying that the new movie is "amazing, funny, and heartfelt," and that he had a big hand in the script. (I imagine that anything Momoa has a hand in is a big hand, but I digress). He introduced director James Wan, who took the stage to share some unfinished footage from the upcoming film in the form of a featurette.
Wan said "The Lost Kingdom" is a continuation of what he did with the first "Aquaman" film, and he's tried to take it to the next level. There was a lot of wire work in the first film to mimic the performers being underwater, but for the sequel, Wan used 100 cameras to capture every angle and movement of the actors in order to create a 3D image of them. This freed up the actors a bit and gave Wan more creative freedom.
The footage he shared depicted Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) being taken over by an evil, ancient power. Arthur (Momoa) and Orm (Patrick Wilson) have to team up to fight against Black Manta, who is becoming even more of supervillain, complete with a cool underwater lair that would make Dr. Evil blush. There are also some freaky robotic ships that look like the Sentinels from "The Matrix," and it's entirely possible they're a part of Manta's crew, and we'll see Arthur and Orm fighting them as well.
Here is the official synopsis for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" from Warner Bros. Pictures:
When an ancient power is unleashed, Aquaman must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation.
"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" will hit theaters on March 17, 2023.