If the FILMSTARTS community – and therefore also the German audience – has its way, the most anticipated film will not be “Avatar 3”, the science fiction sequel “Dune 2” or the upcoming MCU film “The Marvels” in the coming years, but another. : “Aquaman 2“ surprisingly topped the rankings in our list as of early July 2023 – and is still there (as of September 14, 2023). #1 of the most anticipated movies.
Expectations for “Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom” are obviously high, which is why it was a bit surprising that it took so long for a first trailer for the DC sequel. On September 11, however, a trailer-by-trailer was finally released, to which director James Wan also responded with amusement – and Now the full-length trailer for “Aquaman 2” is finally here.
The plot of “Aquaman 2: Lost Kingdom”
In addition to James Wan, there is of course Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry aka Aquaman and Amber Heard as Mera, who now rule Atlantis as a royal couple and have a child together. While the focus in ‘Aquaman’ was on the relationship between Arthur and Mera, in part 2 the romance will make way for a bromance – that is, the love-hate relationship between Arthur and his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the big bad. from part 1.
Aquaman needs his help when the second villain from ‘Aquaman’ returns: Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still out for revenge as he blames Arthur for his father’s death. And this time, Black Manta not only has his high-tech diving suit to fall back on, but he has also gotten his hands on the mysterious black trident.
With his help, he has unleashed an ancient, evil force that endangers not only Atlantis and Arthur’s family, but the surface world as well. Now Aquamans and Orm must work together to stop Black Manta and his plans and save Arthur’s family…
The plot is a bit reminiscent of “Thor 2: The Dark Kingdom,” where rival brothers Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) also did things together, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It remains to be seen whether “Aquaman 2” can build on the stellar success of the first installment, which remains the most successful DC film of all time with a worldwide box office of $1.148 billion.
After the last few DC films all failed to meet expectations or even flopped at the box office, a success of “Aquaman 2” would be a rounded conclusion to the old DCEU – before the new DC Universe (DCU) officially begins in 2025 with “Superman: Legacy”.