Mark your calendars. Warner Brothers has not only confirmed a sequel to ‘Aquaman’, but scheduled its release date for December 16, 2022. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who co-wrote the screenplay for the first, is confirmed to be returning to pen the sequel. Director James Wan was not confirmed to be returning, but things look good that this announcement will come soon. Worldwide, ‘Aquaman’ has made over a billion dollars and is the highest-grossing movie based on a DC Comics superhero ever. So a sequel was a given. It was just a matter of time.
Just weeks ago, word emerged that Warner Brothers is also working on a lower-budget horror spinoff ‘The Trench’ based on the carnivorous creatures that attacked Aquaman while he was searching for the Trident of Atlan. While Wan, who directed most of the films in the ‘Insidious’, ‘Conjuring’ and ‘Annabelle’ franchises, is likely to be involved, he is not currently expected to direct that. It is also not expected that Aquaman or any other characters from that film will appear.
Four years seems like a long wait, but keep in mind that ‘Aquaman’ requires an extended period of post-production to create that lavish underwater kingdom. In the meantime, there are a few other DC movies to fill the void. We’re just over a month away from the release of ‘Shazam!’ directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Zachary Levi. That ka-booms into theaters on April 5. This fall sees the release of Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’ starring Joaquin Phoenix, but that is a stand-alone origin story, not connected to the other DC movies. ‘Joker’ opens on October 4 of this year.
Margot Robbie reprises her role of Harley Quinn in Cathy Yan’s ‘Birds of Prey’, which opens on February 7, 2020. Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead co-star. That will be followed by ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, the sequel to 2017’s megahit. Patty Jenkins returns to direct, with stars Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Kristen Wiig joins as the villain Barbara Minerva/The Cheetah.
Matt Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ relaunches the Dark Knight film franchise. A star has not yet been cast, but the film is already scheduled for release on June 25, 2021. Then James Gunn makes his DC directing debut with ‘The Suicide Squad’, rumored to be something of a reboot, following the disappointing 2016 film. It is believed at this time, however, that Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn will reappear, though. That movie is expected out on August 6, 2021.
Now we can add ‘Aquaman 2’ on December 16, 2022, to that list.
The first ‘Aquaman’ will be released on home video on March 26, 2019.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
