In December 2018, James Wan delivered not only the biggest hit of his career but also the highest-grossing instalment in the DC Extended Universe with Aquaman, and so its no surprise that he currently finds himself back behind the camera on the sequel to the Jason Momoa-led superhero blockbuster.
Filming on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now underway in the UK, and speaking to IGN, Wan has revealed what lured him back for the DC sequel (and why he’s unlikely to return for a third):
“There’s a reason why I don’t make three movies in the same series,” states Wan. “It’d be lucky to get me to make a sequel. And then after that, I just get bored. I want to do something different. I would say the thing that really got me excited to come back to [Aquaman] is finding a story that I think is worthy and if not better than the first movie. And also, for me, really, when I come back to a sequel, whether it was for Insidious 2 or The Conjuring 2, and now Aquaman 2 is I helped shape and create these characters that I eventually fall in love with, and I feel like I’m not done with them yet. So I feel like I owe them one more story from me.”
Stating that he wanted to “continue the next chapter of Arthur Curry’s story, and Orm’s story, and Mera’s story, and Black Manta’s story”, Wan credited screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick for “finding a really cool story to bring all these characters back, and then growing them in a big way, and taking them to the next level or the next chapter of their lives.”
“The first movie introduced the audience to such a big world that was only scratching the surface. And I feel like I can now dig deep into that and expand on that more,” Wan continued. “It’s when I feel like I no longer have anything else to say, that’s what I back away. But right now that’s not the case with The Lost Kingdom.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II As Black Manta, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry and Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones) in an as yet unrevealed role.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set for release on December 16th 2022.
