'Aquaman 2' Will Swim Into Theaters In December 2022

Warner Bros. has given Aquaman 2 permission to come aboard. The sequel to James Wan's smash hit has been greenlit by the studio, but it will take some time for the comic book movie to surface. The studio has set the Aquaman 2 release date for December 2022, which means we'll be celebrating Christmas in Atlantis in three years.

Warner Bros. has announced that Aquaman 2 will be released on December 16, 2022. Jason Momoa is set to reprise his role as the aquatic superhero in the sequel, which currently has Aquaman co-writer and Wan's frequent collaborator David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick on board to pen the script. Wan has not been confirmed to return to direct the sequel, nor has Johnson-McGoldrick's co-writer Will Beall.

It was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. greenlit Aquaman 2. Aquaman was a massive hit for Warner Bros., earning $1.1. billion at the global box office and becoming the highest-grossing DC Comics film. Domestically, Aquaman netted in $335 million, which makes it the second highest-grossing DC Extended Universe movie behind 2017's Wonder Woman. The studio is eager to make the most of Aquaman mania, with a spin-off horror movie titled The Trench currently in development.

It's still too early to tell where the plot of Aquaman 2 will go, but it's likely the sequel will follow up the arc of Black Manta. Played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the pirate's origin story was shown in the first Aquaman, and he stole scenes from Orm's (Patrick Wilson) war against the surface world. During the mid-credits scene of the film, we saw Black Manta striking up a partnership with conspiracy theorist Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) to get revenge against Arthur.

Aquaman 2 joins Warner Bros.' growing DC films slate, which include this April's Shazam, the Joaquin Phoenix Joker solo movie, 2020's Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984 in 2020, and The Batman and The Suicide Squad in 2021.