Ahead of the release of DC's Black Adam Deadline has announced another release date shakeup at Warner Brothers has pushed the release date for the Aquaman sequel, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom to Christmas 2023. The film had previously been set for March 17, 2023, after having been pushed back from December 21, 2022. Shazam: Fury of The Gods is now set to take the March release date after having earlier been set to arrive on Aquaman 2's initial December 2022 date.
Almost every studio has experienced delays, especially for VFX-heavy projects like sci-fi and superhero films. Franchise villain Patrick Wilson spoke about Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’s never-before-seen VFX techniques in an interview with Collider in February. The first film saw Jason Momoa take up the mantle of the titular hero as Arthur Curry as he learned of his true lineage as the king of Atlantis. His ascent to the throne was a troubled one as he had to fend off both an ill-intentioned half-brother who saw the throne as his own and a highly skilled pirate turned supervillain seeking revenge for his father's death.
Aquaman also recently appeared at the end of the Season 1 finale of James Gunn’s Peacemaker series along with the other members of the Justice League. With Black Adam introducing the Justice Society — an alternate version of the Justice League — it remains to be seen how the upcoming films will play off each other. In the comics, Black Adam and Shazam!'s Billy Baston are known enemies, so we could see the Justice Society and the Justice League going head-to-head in the future of the DCEU.
In addition to Momoa and Wilson, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom stars Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Dolph Lundgren. Horror master and Aquaman director James Wan is back to helm the sequel from a script penned by David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick. The duo worked on last year’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, along with franchise stars Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Filming wrapped on Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom back in January, but with the new release date, there's no word yet on when we'll see a trailer for the upcoming sequel. The costumes from Aquaman 2 were recently featured at licensing con; you can get a detailed look at Aquaman and Black Manta’s looks in the upcoming film.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is now set to hit theaters on December 25, 2023. Be sure to stay tuned at Collider for all the latest movie and TV news! Check out our chat with Wilson about Aquaman 2's VFX work and more down below.