Director James Wan has used his Instagram account to reveal that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is officially filming. What’s more puzzling is that the production title on the movie slate featured in the announcement photo is "Necrus," which is, of course, an obscure comic book reference.

During the events of the first Aquaman movie, we learn that the fall of the Atlantean Empire gave birth to Seven Kingdoms beneath the sea. We get to know some of these Kingdoms as King Orm (Patrick Wilson) uses Atlantis’s impressive military to force a unity of allies in order to attack the surface world. As Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) tries to stop his brother’s destructive warpath, we learn that one of the Kingdoms of the Atlantean Empire has wholly vanished, known now only as The Lost Kingdom. The recent reveal of the official name of Aquaman 2 teases the sequel will deal with this Lost Kingdom. With the Easter egg teased on the movie's slate, it is safe to bet that the doomed city of Necrus will inspire this Kingdom.

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The city of Necrus was introduced in 1966 as a distorted reflection of Atlantis. The city, ruled by a vicious tyrant named Mongo, also has a vast army. Contrary to Atlantis, however, Necrus despises surface dwellers and doesn’t intend to live peacefully with their earthly neighbors. What’s more interesting is that Necrus, also described as "The Black City," doesn’t have a set position in the ocean.

Necrus is displaced from the material plane, only showing up from time to time due to the influence of an alien satellite. This enables Necrus to move around, which would make it a perfect fit for the Lost Kingdom. Besides that, the hate Mongo and Necrus have for surface dwellers could lead them to form an alliance with Wilson’s Ocean Master, as the villain definitely won’t take his defeat in Aquaman lightly.

It’s still too early to know if Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will indeed bring a version of Necrus to movie theaters. However, Wan’s choice of this production name is no coincidence. Maybe the filmmaker wanted to lead fans on a wild goose chase for some obscure comic book reference, but it’s most likely the Aquaman sequel will indeed have Mongo as its main villain (perhaps even played by newcomer and former Game of Thrones cast member Pilou Asbæk?).

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently scheduled for a December 16, 2022 release date. Check out James Wan's cryptic Instagram post below:

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