Baku, July 20, AZERTAC
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is the sequel to the 2018 film- Aquaman which was directed by James Gunn and the film’s success is much to his credit, according to High on Cinema. The film revolved around Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry fighting his half-brother Orm played by Patrick Wilson, and fulfilling his destiny as the Ruler of the Seven Seas. The film was good, which is a sight for sore eyes when it comes to the DCEU (now DCU). Aquaman at least back then was part of the Snyderverse which included Ben Affleck’s Batman. However, after appearing in Dawn of Justice (2016) and The Justice League, both the theatrical and Snyder Cut, Ben Affleck hung up his cape. DC found a new Batman in Robert Pattinson however, it doesn’t look like he is part of this universe.
Aquaman 2 is one of the last DC films which are part of the Snyder universe, we’re aware that Peter Safran and James Gunn have plans for the DCU and it doesn’t involve keeping the old DC actors in the mix. Aquaman 2, The Flash along with Shazam! 2 would be the last few films to come out before the DCU goes under a rebirth and a complete revamp to begin once again and start a coherently connect universe that introduces known and lesser known heroes. However, even after being inconsequential to Gunn and Safran masterplan, Aquaman 2 still happens to have one of the biggest budget for a DC film.
In the current landscape of the DCU, Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey happen to be the cheapest movie under DC’s belt clocking in at only $80 Million when it comes to the production budget of the film. In an era where Superhero movies are all about extremely expensive outings, especially considering the effects, cast, and scale of movies. Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame costed around $356 Million to make barring the marketing costs. However, Endgame is not the most expensive film of all time. That is kind of a wild card entry.
The most expensive movie of all time is 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, costing a massive $430 million after adjusting for inflation. The film’s budget at the time of making was $410 Million (gross). DC too has not been a stranger to make ultra expensive film as their Justice League was made on a budget of $300 Million. However, unlike the other two films above, Justice League bombed at the box office and at least costed Warner Bros. a loss of $150-200 Million. In this list of expensive films Aquaman 2 has added itself to it.
A recent report from Variety revealed that before the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the previous Head- Pam Abdy, had to inform director James Wan to minimize his reshoot budget for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The report also mentioned that the costs of the film are likely to increase if any further changes are to be made to the film for it to line up with the new DCU.
Aquaman 2 replaced Superman Returns which has a budget of $204 Million. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stars Jason Momoa in the lead role of Aquaman and Patrick Wilson as Orm respectively. The other cast includes Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman and Randall Park who reprise their roles from the first film as Mera, Nuidis Vulko, King Nereus, Black Manta, Thomas Curry, Atlanna and Dr. Stephen Shin, respectively. The sequel will introduce some new faces in the form of Vincent Regan as Atlan, Jani Zhao as Stingray, Indya Moore as Karshon and Pilou Asbæk as an undisclosed character.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is slated to release on 25th December 2023.