While Jason Momoa was curiously absent from the “Aquaman” panel, given it’s all pre-recorded and can be done from one’s home, director James Wan was in attendance at DC FanDome to rep his underwater DC superhero. During the panel, which also included “Aquaman” costar Patrick Wilson, Wan teased a few minor details for the forthcoming sequel that is set to arrive in 2022.
During their discussion, Wan spoke about the process of writing Oceanmaster as the polar opposite of Aquaman and whey he knew from day one that Wilson would be such a fun onscreen counter to Momoa. The two also swapped stories about using wires to create the underwater fighting sequences, even sharing an understandable laugh about the image of Dolph Lundgren standing on a teeter-totter.
And while both director and star were pretty mum on the details of “Aquaman 2,” Wan did note that the sequel would offer a slightly different tone than the first. “The second one is a little bit more serious, a little bit more relevant in the world that we’re living in today,” Wan shared. Wilson also asked for more worldbuilding in the sequel, which Wan hinted would be an important part of the story. If nothing else, this panel suggests that Wilson will have a sizable role in the sequel, which is great news for all us Patrick Wilson fans out there.
“Aquaman” grossed $1.14 billion in 2019 and still stands as the highest-grossing DC film of all time, surpassing both Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” and the billion-dollar grossing “Joker.” The film is also the 9th highest-grossing superhero movie of all time worldwide. Domestically, however, the movie made $335 million, which is second amongst DC superhero movies after “Wonder Woman.”
READ MORE: James Wan To Produce A New ‘Aquaman’ Animated Series For HBO Max
Wan is also developing an “Aquaman” horror film spin-off based on the trench creatures featured in the superhero movie’s climactic (and arguably best) scene, but there’s been little public movement on it since it was announced in 2019.
“Aquaman 2” currently has a December 12, 2022 release date, but we’ll at least see Jason Momoa as Aquaman before that in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” which is expected May 2022 on HBO Max.