Posted in: Aquaman, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: Aquaman 2, aquaman and the lost kingdom, dc studios, james wan, warner bros discovery

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: James Wan Debunks Big Reshoots Rumors

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan is able to shutdown those rumors that massive reshoots and story detailed were changed in post-production.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been in a weird place for a long time now. One would think this would be the DC movie they would have fast-tracked out after the first one cracked a billion dollars. However, that wasn't the case, and by the time this film comes out, it'll be five years since the first film was released. A lot can change in five years, and a lot has in terms of Warner Bros. Aquaman, much like The Flash, is a movie that was greenlit before everything at Warner Bros. fell apart, and it was a film that came out and succeeded the despite the failings of previous DC movies. However, it was still built on the same cracked foundation that all of the previous DC movies were built on, and Aquaman, much like Wonder Woman, would stumble on that cracked foundation.

For this sequel, it was a very long production schedule, with the set report that Entertainment Weekly just put out being from 2021. COVID threw everything into chaos; the constant shifting of release dates and the eventual changes in DC leadership left all four of the DC movies released in 2023 in limbo. Three of the four of them released and, thus far, the best one critically is struggle at the box office. That left Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and people were wondering if the film would be coming out this year at all, even more so when Warner Bros. Discovery shifted a few things due to the strikes. This week, they finally decided it was time to start marketing the movie, and the first trailer is set to come out tomorrow. Because of that, director James Wan can finally debunk some of the big rumors about the production being troubled. There was a report saying that the film was going through massive reshoots, but Wan explained to EW that the reshoots weren't very long, but that scheduling meant they took forever to complete.

"We have big actors in this movie, and everyone's schedule is really hard. So, we had to break up our shooting schedule into sections. We'll shoot a bit here now because this actor's available, and then we'll do another shoot now because this guy's available. People are like, 'Oh, they're doing a whole bunch of different shoots!' No. If we actually combined them all together, it's actually not that many number of days at all."

The reshoots and everything else spread onto social media as well when, back in July 2022, star Jason Momoa revealed that Ben Affleck would be making some sort of appearance in the film as Bruce Wayne/Batman. This sort of social media announcement thing did not work out well for Black Adam, and it seems like it might not be working out well for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom either since reports are now saying that Affleck's cameo in the movie and one from Michael Keaton as well, were left on the cutting room floor. Wan attributes all of that to not knowing in what order the films would be coming out, whether they are before or after The Flash and didn't confirm or deny whether or not there will be any Batman of any variety in the film.

"The tricky thing early on was not knowing whether Aquaman would come out first or come out after [The Flash]. So, we just had to be prepared. At the end of the day, the best thing I would say about this movie is that it is not connected in any way to any of those films. That's the bottom line." So, Batman does not appear in Aquaman 2? "That's a 'no comment' right now," the director says. "You're going to have to wait for the movie to come out."

As if things with this movie weren't dramatic enough, rumors began to surface that Co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn had stepped in and changed the film for Wan, causing even more online rumors to run amok. Wan quickly shuts that down, that he and Gunn go way back and stands firm that this is his movie.

"I've known James since way back, right?" he says. "We're horror guys, and so I'm definitely open to ideas. But, at the end of the day, this is my movie."

The last massive bit of behind-the-scenes drama concerns Amber Heard, who recently went through a very large legal battle with ex-husband, Johnny Depp. There were calls from Depp's fans saying that Heard should be removed from the movie, and Heard herself even claimed that her role was reduced following the lawsuit, but Wan dismissed it. He explained that the core idea for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which primarily focused on Arthur and brother Orm, was always the story he intended to tell, and circumstance didn't change that.

"I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera's journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie; the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We'll leave it at that."

At the moment, it is still very unclear what will happen with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. It's strange that DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery waited this long to start marketing the film, but maybe they were hoping that the strikes would end and they could start a decent press tour. Either way, the trailer drops tomorrow, and we'll have to see what the reaction from the internet ends up being. And we'll have to wait until December to see if Warner Bros. Discovery has another billion-dollar movie on its hands or a misfire with a budget that could rival The Flash. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Director James Wan and Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa—along with Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman—return in the sequel to the highest-grossing DC film of all time: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

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.

All returning to the roles they originated, Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry/Aquaman, now balancing his duties as both the King of Atlantis and a new father; Patrick Wilson is Orm, Aquaman's half-brother and his nemesis, who must now step into a new role as his brother's reluctant ally; Amber Heard is Mera, Atlantis' Queen and mother of the heir to the throne; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is Black Manta, committed more than ever to avenge his father's death by destroying Aquaman, his family and Atlantis; and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, a fierce leader and mother with the heart of a warrior. Also reprising their roles are Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus and Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin.

Directed by Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is produced by Peter Safran, Wan, and Rob Cowan. The executive producers are Galen Vaisman and Walter Hamada. The screenplay is by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, from a story by James Wan & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Jason Momoa & Thomas Pa'a Sibbett, based on characters from DC, Aquaman created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents An Atomic Monster / A Peter Safran Production of A James Wan Film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, set to open in theaters internationally beginning 20 December 2023 and in North America on December 20, 2023; it will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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