Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s early projections are in and it looks like the fall box office continues to be questionable moving forward. Early projections by Box Office Pro are hinting at an opening weekend that matches the rest of the year so far, as it may open between $32M to $42M. That is quite a drop and even lower than The Marvel’s opening just a few weeks ago.
The only difference is that Aquaman sequel has the holiday legs in its favor given it’s releasing over the Holidays. Yet, even the reliable holiday season has become questionable as Thanksgiving isn’t giving many major releases a bigger push than some were hoping to see from their newest high-budget releases like Wish and Napoleon.
It’s starting to look like the original pre-COVID mapping of massive projects released in the fall is starting to drop. There’s not a lot of box office to gain here given recent numbers, but 2023 is generally been a detrimental box office disaster across the board. Many are pointing at the classic “superhero fatigue” but considering just how many productions have been hit, it seems like the year was just overstuffed and the price of admission was simply to high if there wasn’t a reason.
Outside of a few exceptions (this year’s Top 10 tells you everything you need to know about 2023), the year wasn’t kind to any new release and we’ll likely see a change in how they handle it. Sony is currently dedicated to pushing out as many projects as possible while Marvel Studios took a step back. Disney has reshuffled its schedule and not much is known about the rest. So, we’ll see what the future holds.
There’s something bizarre about the DCEU at this point. Ever since the beginning under the supervision of Zack Snyder, the entire franchise seems to be riddled with issues and questionable decisions on many levels. While he had an initial plan, it got derailed at every possible step along the way, and even with new heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, it seems the franchise isn’t on a path to full recovery.
After The Flash’s ongoing drama, it seems that the other remnant of the original DCEU is also facing some massive troubles. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is seemingly filled with a lot of drama surrounding its main stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and surprisingly Elon Musk as well. The production has been another major tentpole release that ballooned to a $215M budget. All these revelations seemingly came from Heard’s own therapist that fans paid to get access to as part of the trial.
Early on, the Johnny Depp-Heard trial was all over the news and cast doubt that she’d have a role in the film. As it turned out, Momoa was also against her being on set and seemingly dressed up like Depp in a drunken stupor. It established a hostile environment and he was actively trying to push her out of the film, where she was set to return as Hera. Though DC spokesperson has made a statement that this wasn’t the case. Some even testifying against the claims.
Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set. And he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.
It’s hard to say what is and isn’t true from all this, but more reports also hint that the relationship with director James Wan wasn’t the best either. He supposedly treated her “like a pariah” due to the limitations set on the production due to the court case. There are also reports that Heard was nearly fired from the production but an unlikely person came to ensure she could keep the role. That was her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk, who sent a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” to ensure she could remain in production.
Does Warner Bros. have another The Flash on their hands? The last time the production studio was all-in on a DC Studios project from the former era did not end as they hoped. After becoming one of the biggest bombs of the studio’s 100-year history, even performing worse than Green Lantern, they are quite nervous that the next project sticks the landing. While there is little advertising going around for Blue Beetle, which is set to release in only a few weeks, Warner Bros. may once again be too focused on the future.
Their next big hope is the release of James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is riding on the potential of the first film’s $1 billion holiday release. The only issue is that the film is seemingly sinking in one way or another. The film has undergone three reshoots by now, which is not something you normally want to hear about a film. One or two reshoots are pretty common nowadays, but the problem seems to stem from the film going through countless test screenings.
During one round, the new Warner film heads, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, got involved; the latter got involved in the editing process. That led to the film scoring even lower and ended up going through another round of reshoots. Supposedly, the story clarity is an issue for viewers of The Lost Kingdom. Plus, now one can add the fact that the second reshoots including Ben Affleck, who was set to replace Michael Keaton’s character after his originally planned return at the end of The Flash, is now also scrapped by DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
They are pointing to the overworked visual effects houses as one reason, but they have affected many other films ever since the pandemic started. It seems like too many cooks were involved and the film has likely gone even further over its initially planned budget of $205M. So, the film would have to do a lot of heavy lifting to make its money back. Oddly, Black Adam remains the highest earner at the box office for DC since the pandemic started and Dwayne Johnson may have held is promise after all.
CinemaCon has given Warner Bros. Discovery the chance to highlight its future slate with a strong emphasis on 2023. It’s a big movement for the studio as they have been struggling with their recent DC releases like Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. While the big focus is on The Flash which is being screened in its entirety for attendees, they also got some footage teasing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The big surprise is that quite a bit of the footage shown includes some major spoilers for the sequel. Some reports are sharing that the footage includes Aquaman having a child and that Black Manta is seemingly the main antagonist in the upcoming sequel. Of course, they might be hiding some secrets as there’s no word of the “Lost Kingdom” in the title.
Black Manta has seemingly gotten his hand on an ancient weapon known as the Black Trident and starts an attack on Atlantis. The rest of the film will see him forced to work alongside his murderous brother Orm the Ocean Master. Of course, they weren’t going to spoil everything but it’s definitely interesting that many early reports are pretty much on point with what we can expect. It’s also great to see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II get a bigger role in the sequel.
Some time ago, Jason Momoa seemingly hinted that perhaps a dream role has come his way. While he’s become famous as the DC Extended Universe’s Aquaman, he also always has his eyes on becoming the iconic DC character of Lobo. Some elements of that character have made its way into his take on Arthur Curry, but it seems like he sees a bright future for the character.
Under new leadership, many wondered just what might survive the future of the DC Cinematic Universe under DC Studios’ James Gunn and Peter Safran. In an interview with Total Film, he stated that he sees a bright future for the character as he believes “Aquaman will be involved in the DCU.”
Peter [Safran]’s my producer [on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom], and is a dear friend. I absolutely think Aquaman will be involved in the DCU. It’s on, bro – there’s no one bigger than Aquaman! But, also, I hope people are excited to see the new one. It’s fun. I really enjoy doing comedy. There’s some really funny stuff with Patrick Wilson. I really adore him. We had a great time working together. It’s like we’re brothers. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening in this one
Jason Momoa
Momoa‘s enthusiasm has always been infectious and it’s not surprising that he’s definitely down to continue this role. He’ll take on the role next in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will finally release later this year in December. So, perhaps that film will give us a better idea of what the future has in store for us in the new DCU.
Peter Safran and James Gunn‘s vision for the new DCU will kick off with the animated series Creature Commandoes, continue in the streaming series Waller and begin in earnest in 2025’s Superman: Legacy. However, there are four projects left over from the old regime that are set to debut before DC Studios projects begin rolling out. At a press event in Los Angeles, Gunn explained how those projects were viewed and what potential futures they might have.
“We will say that we’ve gotten very lucky with the next four projects,” said Gunn. “Shazam 2’ is coming out. ‘Shazam’ is kind of off to itself. But then ‘Shazam’ leads into ‘Flash’ and ‘The Flash’ resets everything. I will say here that ‘The Flash’ is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made,” he added. “It’s an amazing film and then it goes into ‘Blue Beetle,’ which is awesome. That has its own world and that fits directly into our DCU which goes into ‘Aquaman’ which will then lead into ‘Superman’ and the other projects that we’ll talk about in a moment.“
Co-chair Peter Safran then chimed in with some interesting thoughts.
These four movies are terrific. There’s no reason why any of the characters and the actors playing those characters are not part of the DCU. There’s nothing that prohibits that from happening. There is no reason why all the people you mentioned couldn’t be part of the DC. We just haven’t decided what the story that we want to tell that incorporates Shazam or Aquaman.
Peter Safran
So while the new vision for the DCU takes shape, there’s still room for some of the old guard, including Aquaman star Jason Momoa. Now whether or not those potential stories would be part of the main continuity or fall under the newly revealed DC Elseworlds designation remains to be seen, but the opportunity exists for more stories which is something that recently seemed unlikely.
DC Studios is currently preparing to reveal its big plans for the future, and it appears Aquaman star Jason Momoa might actually be part of them. In a recent post to social media, the lovable heartthrob documented himself leaving a meeting at Warner Bros., shouting in excitement and claiming he had just received “really good news”. The actor stated the reason behind his elation was still a DC Studios secret but hinted strongly that it was about his next few years with the company. Before closing out the video, Momoa went on to thank studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, for whatever they had just discussed.
Jason Momoa teases some very exciting news regarding his future at DC Studios, thanking @JamesGunn, Peter Safran and David Zaslav in the process. pic.twitter.com/nl3rCW1kem
After debuting as the character in a 2016 Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice cameo appearance, Momoa went on to portray the King of Atlantis in both versions of Justice League, both Aquaman solo films, and the television series Peacemaker. When news broke that Gunn and Safran planned to scrap the current DC Extended Universe and restart with their own cinematic world, however, it seemed Momoa‘s tenure as Aquaman had come to an end. Some reports claimed Gunn wanted the one-time Conan the Barbarian lead to stick around as another character, the intergalactic mercenary Lobo, but no official word ever dropped regarding the actor’s future with DC. Now, it seems he’s in it for the long run. What role he will play, though, remains a mystery.
2023 is shaping up to be the last stand for the old guard of DC films before James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s new slate begins rolling out sometime in 2024. Still, there are 4 big dates on the calendar for the upcoming year including one for The Flash, which has been a film fans have looked forward to for years. Team MM shares their feelings about which DC film they’re looking most forward to in the new year with another special assist from our awesome followers on Twitter!
As Hollywood gets ready to go on break, James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s initial vision for the first wave of DC Studios film in the all-new DC Universe has been communicated with the big bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery. Since then Gunn revealed that a Superman film, written by him, will be a top priority for the new studio while indicating that he and Safran plan to share part of the new slate with fans sometime early in 2023. While we wait to find out what the game plan is, here’s a Christmas-time wish list of what we’d like to see.
Richard John Grayson
For too long DC’s takes on Batman have made the mistake of robbing Batman of one of the most important relationships he’s ever forged. Dick Grayson hasn’t made an appearance in a live-action Batman film since 1997’s Batman and Robin and instead has been shuffled off to streaming land where some half-assed version of him exists on Titans. Gunn has said Batman is an important part of the stories DC Studios wants to tell. Dick Grayson is an important part of Batman’s stories. If DC Studios wants to be taken seriously by fans of Batman, this is a huge first step.
The Brave and The Bold
The Brave and The Bold is the Marvel Team-Ups of DC Comics, but to a lot of readers, it calls to mind one of DC’s most beloved pair of bros: Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. 2023 will see the oft-delayed The Flash film finally hit theaters, CW’s The Flash is ending following its 701st season and there’s been exactly one terrible live-action version of Hal Jordan to date in 2011’s Green Lantern film. Given that it’ll be a few years before DC Studios’ new slate starts rolling out, pushing out a new version of Barry Allen might not be as big of a deal as it seems in 2022. Even though he’s been out of the spotlight for a while, Hal Jordan probably doesn’t need an entire film’s worth of origin. Give these two a buddy film and get them involved in the bigger narrative ASAP.
J’onn J’onzz
The Snyderverse certainly could have used more J’onn J’onzz, a character who was nearly criminally underutilized over the last decade. J’onzz, better known as Martian Manhunter, has been around since the Silver Age and is an OG Justice Leaguer. Moreover, including him in the first wave of films allows DC Studios with someone who can narrate whatever version of the history of the DC Universe they wish to tell because, over his 225 million years, J’onn J’onzz has seen some things.
The League, the Whole League and Nothing But The Leauge
If Gunn is making a shared cinematic universe, there will ultimately be a Justice League. Not too many people outside of Gunn and Safran know what they have in mind for the first wave of films, but it’s likely that at some point, a League will come together and there’s no reason that it can’t be comprised of the original 7. Aquaman, Batman and Wonder Woman may or may not need solo projects ahead of a Justice League film because they’ve all been more recently present than Superman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern; alternatively, maybe all 7 original members need solo projects. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the 7 OG JLA members have NEVER shared the screen in live-action and that’s something we’d like to see Gunn remedy in the near future.
The Hall of Justice
The Justice League is coming and they need a sick HQ. The Hall of Justice, which is based on the real-life Union Terminal building in Cincinnati, Ohio, has never been in a live-action DC film. By the time the new slate reaches the end of its first arc, it would make sense for the heroes to have established an HQ and this one is as iconic as it gets.
Some Off-Beat Heroes
The Trinity will likely be the foundation of the DC Universe. Aquaman, Flash and Green Lantern will likely be there, too. Hopefully, Martian Manhunter makes the cut. However, if there’s one thing Gunn should be proud to carry over with him from his time at Marvel Studios, it’s the fact that he took a group of off-beat, unknown heroes and turned them into a globally recognized brand. So bring on Metamorpho! Throw Red Tornado into the mix. Plastic Man probably has some free time on his hands. What’s Animal Man up to these days? With the ability to introduce characters not only in films but also through streaming series, get some of these off-beat heroes into the mix. 3 years ago, nobody knew who Peacemaker was and now fans are eagerly antipating the second season of a streaming series starring John Cena as the butt of an ongoing joke.
The OG Leaguers can’t do it all themselves (they totally can, but they never do), so throw some of these guys into the mix and give them a shot at becoming beloved by a new generation.
A Lex Luthor That Can Be Taken Seriously
This one is tough because while Gunn and Safran will want to break away from the stigma of the Snyderverse’s absurd take on Luthor, there’s arguably no more sensible villain for DC Studios’ first wave of films than Luthor. The character has been done to death on TV and in films, but never in a way in which he posed a threat to the entire Justice League. He doesn’t have to be the villain of Gunn’s Superman; in fact, he probably shouldn’t be. However, establishing him and then letting him grow into the type of character that could be powerful enough to threaten the entire league would set him apart from any previous version. And that version of the character probably includes…
The Legion of Doom
If anyone has the balls to bring this ridiculous team of villains together, it’s James Gunn. Though numerous iterations of the team have since appeared in the comics, the OGs first appeared in 1978 in the 16-episode Challenge of the Superfriends animated series that aired on ABC. The original team, which operated out of Darth Vader’s helmet, aka the Hall of Doom, was led by Luthor and consisted of rogues from all of the principal Leaguers galleries. Bizzaro, Black Manta, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Riddler, Scarecrow, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy and Toyman all plotted to take over the world and failed again and again. DC Studios may not be able to pull all 13 of these baddies together and it doesn’t have to. But a JLA vs Legion of Doom movie would certainly garner some attention and one-up Marvel Studios in the sense that they have somehow failed to put together a live-action Masters of Evil 14 years in.
There’s so much more that Gunn and Safran should try to accomplish as they build out the DC Universe, but the hope is that they’ll have the time necessary to do so. Great live-action versions of the JSA, The Question, The Spectre, the Green Lantern Corps and Damian Wayne all deserve to exist. But those characters probably don’t get the treatment they deserve without a solid foundation in the first wave of DC Studios’ slate. A safe, solid slate with some surprises thrown in. Let’s get it done, DC Studios.
Willem Dafoe has left the ocean, or something like that. According to a new report from industry insider KC Walsh, the fan-favorite actor will not appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, despite playing a major role in the previous film and cameoing alongside Jason Momoa‘s Arthur Curry in Zack Snyder’sJustice League. Dafoe portrayed Aquaman’s mentor Nuidis Vulko, a chief Atlantean scientist and one of the hero’s foremost supporting characters from the comics. The former Spider-Man star was widely expected to reprise the Vulko role in the sequel, but Walsh states the story has other plans.
***POTENTIAL SPOILERS***
In response to an inquisitive fan on Twitter, Walsh made the claim that the friendly father figure will not only be absent from the film but will be snuffed out of the franchise altogether. Vulko will, supposedly, be killed offscreen at some point during the movie, ending Dafoe‘s time in the DC cinematic universe and stripping Aquaman of his most-trusted confidant.
Dafoe‘s journey as Vulko has been a bit strange from the start. He was originally cast in the role by Snyder for Justice League but saw all his scenes cut from the theatrical release. He eventually debuted in Aquaman before having his initial Justice League restored in the highly-demanded Director’s Cut.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be directed by James Wan, returning from the first film. Momoa will be back in the title role, with Patrick Wilson also returning as his formerly villainous half-brother Orm Marius. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Randall Park, and Amber Heard are all expected to make a comeback as part of the cast.
Source: Twitter
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