Due to changes from three different executive teams, pandemic shutdowns, and actor controversy, the ‘Aquaman’ sequel has undergone numerous rewrites, reshoots, and postponements, with the newest round finishing right as SAG actors went on strike.
What in the Atlantis is going on? A third round of reshoots has just wrapped for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which involved multiple stars including Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson. For context, principal photography was originally completed in January 2022.
The Aquaman sequel has hit several snags during its long production, from rewrites, to reshoots, executive shuffling, postponements, even actor controversies. Originally led by Toby Emmerich and Walter Hamada, the project switched hands to Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy during the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and then again to James Gunn and Peter Safran, with each duo attempting to ‘fix’ the film with their own spin.
With each successive round of reshoots, characters and plots began to change. Ever controversial Amber Heard’s role was reportedly diminished (or increased, no one knows for sure), while the subject of Batman came into hot debate. Originally, Hamada wanted Bruce Wayne to be played by Michael Keaton. Then, Abdy and De Luca turned the role over to Ben Affleck; neither version of the Black Knight appears now in Gunn and Safran’s version. “It was pretty chaotic,” claimed a source close to THR.
In addition to the creative red tape, the pandemic overloaded VFX houses, causing calendar setbacks out of anyone’s control. Unfortunately, test screenings didn’t go over well, and even worse, didn’t improve as cuts and changes were made.
Lost Kingdom serves as the last film in the DC Extended Universe, with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy kicking off the Gods and Monsters chapter in 2025. James Wan directs from a script by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Mort Weisinger, and Paul Norris. Jason Momoa stars as Arthur Curry with Patrick Wilson as Orm and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the dastardly Black Manta.
Production VFX supes are Ivan Busquets, Nick Davis, and Sarah Jane Dunlop; VFX production is being handled by BOT VFX LLC, Cinesite, Day for Nite, DNEG, Halon Entertainment LLC, ILM, MPC, NVIZ, Proof, Inc., and Scanline VFX.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to hit theaters December 20. At least reshoots wrapped before the SAG-AFTRA strike!
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