Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Footage Reaction: Arthur And Orm Join Forces [CinemaCon 2023]

Jason Momoa and his trident are back! But maybe not for long. Thanks to new DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, the DC Extended Universe is coming to an end this Christmas season — and it'll wrap up with a sequel to DC's highest-grossing movie of all time, "Aquaman." While Batman, Superman, Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Black Adam are all being left behind, if there's any character that has a shot at transferring into the new DC Universe, Jason Momoa's King of Atlantis looks like the best bet. Given the film's commercial chances.

Of course, just because the first "Aquaman" movie rode the waves to become a billion-dollar grosser, doesn't mean its follow-up — "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" — is destined to do the same. Momoa and returning director James Wan will be hoping for a repeat; more so the latter. The actor might already have a future in the new DCU, given he's being considered to play Lobo.

If Gunn picks Momoa as Aquaman over Lobo, the rest of the "Lost Kingdom" cast will no doubt be happy too. As they might get another payday down the road. In addition to Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, returning "Aquaman" stars include Amber Heard as Xebel princess Mera, Willem Dafoe as Arthur's mentor Nuidis Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Arthur's half-brother Orm Marius, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the villain David Kane/Black Manta, and Temuera Morrison and Nicole Kidman as Arthur's parents. Ben Affleck's Batman has a cameo in the "Aquaman" sequel too.

The first footage for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" played during the Warner Bros. panel on Tuesday at the ongoing CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas, where /Film's Ben Pearson is on the ground. Here's what he saw. 

James Wan said in a pre-recorded video, "We dive back into Atlantis, but we also get to visit strange new worlds." Wan called it an "action adventure story with a really fun bromance at its heart between Arthur and Orm." Black Manta is back and "vengeful," wanting to unleash a "powerful ancient evil." We see that Arthur has a son now, and he talks to his own father about parenting. Several quick shots follow of Arthur swimming underwater, stabbing his trident into a vehicle.

"I'm supposed to be a king, to bring the land and sea together. But now I feel the tide shifting," Arthur says. "Something is destroying the surface world." An ominous black cloud infects Atlantis. We find that Black Manta thinks it's his destiny to unlock the greatest power in human history, and we see a shot of him fighting Orm. "No one hits my brother but me," Arthur quips. We see a black trident that is turning people evil, with Black Manta blasting green energy from it. Another shot shows Orm and Arthur in the jungle, with more shots of epic undersea battles. Nicole Kidman is in on the action too, riding a creature into a big battle.

There's lots of new Atlantean technology this time, with "absolute chaos in terms of action," per Ben's findings, with "hundreds of characters fighting at once." Orm says to Arthur, "If you lead, Atlantis will follow." The brothers join forces to fight Black Manta, despite being at odds. "Fans of the first movie will likely love this. It looks just like a continuation of what came before, only much, much bigger," Ben says. "James Wan seems to be trying to ground this movie a little more with the generational father/son dynamic, but the action really takes center stage."

"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" washes ashore on December 20, 2023.