This week's Your Nerd Side Show:
Warner Bros. and DC Studios released a new synopsis alongside the first teaser trailer for the long-awaited sequel to 2018's Aquaman, which revealed that Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) got married sometime between the events of the two Aquaman flicks and now rule Atlantis as its King and Queen. However, in the part of the synopsis that confirms the film's returning cast members, Aquaman is described as having to balance "his duties as both the King of Atlantis and a new father" while Mera is "Atlantis' Queen and mother of the heir to the throne." This seemingly confirms that their child, Arthur Curry Jr./Aquababy, will be introduced in the sequel.
Created by Nick Cardy, Aquababy first appeared in DC Comics' Aquaman #23 in October 1965. The character was first reported to be appearing in The Lost Kingdom in April 2022. While Aquababy's role in the sequel remains largely unknown at this time, his introduction, as well as Black Manta's larger role in The Lost Kingdom, has led some fans to believe the film may be a loose adaptation of Aquaman: Death of a Prince, a 1970s comic book storyline that ended with Black Manta suffocating Aquababy to death.
Is This the End of Jason Momoa's Aquaman?
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will mark the eighth time Momoa has portrayed Arthur Curry/Aquaman after debuting as the fan-favorite superhero in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After playing a large supporting role in 2017's Justice League (and the film's 2021 Snyder Cut), Momoa headlined the character's titular solo outing in 2018 before returning for cameos in the Season 1 finale of Peacemaker and the post-credits scene of The Flash (2023). He also voiced the Lego version of Aquaman in 2019's The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
With the DCEU set to be rebooted into the DC Universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran's leadership following the release of The Lost Kingdom, it remains to be seen which characters, actors and storylines will be continued in the new timeline. There have been rumors that Momoa will step down from playing Aquaman in the DCU to instead play Lobo, the actor's favorite comic book character. Momoa confirmed as much earlier this year when he said that could "play other things, too" in the DCU. However, at this time, Momoa's Lobo casting remains unconfirmed and should be taken with a grain of salt until officially announced by DC Studios.
Besides Momoa and Heard, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will bring back most of the first film's supporting cast, including Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman and Randall Park as Orm, Nuidis Vulko, King Nereus, Black Manta, Thomas Curry, Atlanna and Dr. Stephen Shin, respectively. The sequel will introduce several newcomers in the form of Vincent Regan as King Atlan, Jani Zhao as Stingray, Indya Moore as Karshon and Pilou Asbæk as an undisclosed character.
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens in theaters on Dec. 20.
Source: Warner B