Deadline reports that Warner Brothers has moved the release date of Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom to Christmas 2023, just before DC’s Black Adam is set to hit theatres. The release date of the film had been moved back from December 21, 2022, to March 17, 2023. Originally scheduled for a December 2022 release with Aquaman 2, Shazam! Fury of the Gods has been pushed back to March. Delays have plagued nearly every studio, and they’ve been especially problematic for VFX-heavy productions like science fiction and superhero movies. In a February interview, franchise villain Patrick Wilson praised the groundbreaking visual effects in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.
In the first film, Jason Momoa stepped into the role of Arthur Curry, the title hero, after discovering his actual heritage as the king of Atlantis. His rise to power was fraught with danger, as he battled an evil half-brother who wanted the throne for himself and a former pirate-turned supervillain bent on exacting vengeance for the death of his father. The Justice League, including Aquaman, just made an appearance at the end of the Season 1 finale of James Gunn’s Peacemaker series. It remains to be seen how Black Adam’s introduction of the Justice Society, an alternative version of the Justice League, will affect the interplay between the next films.
Black Adam and Billy Baston from Shazam! are archenemies in the comics, therefore a future showdown between the Justice Society and the Justice League is possible in the DCEU. Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Dolph Lundgren also appear in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom alongside Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson. James Wan, who directed the first Aquaman and is now returning to film the sequel, will be working from a script written by David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick.
In addition to franchise regulars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, the two collaborated on 2016’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Though production on Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was completed back in January, the new release date hasn’t been accompanied by any announcement of a teaser. Recently, the costumes from Aquaman 2 were showcased at the licencing con, giving fans a first glimpse at what the forthcoming film’s versions of Aquaman and Black Manta would look like. The new release date for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is December 25, 2023.