Warner Bros. has dated Aquaman 2 for a December 16, 2022 release. That’s right, the sequel to the $1.3 billion grossing Aquaman will arrive four years after the first one released on December 2018. It won’t be a complete drought however, since a spin-off movie titled The Trench will be released, presumably some time in 2020 to fill the void.
The script is to be written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Jason Momoa could very well return as Aquaman but nothing else is set in stone. Even James Wan returning to direct is not a 100% confirmed possibility; the director has previously expressed a desire to have a strong script locked down first before deciding on his involvement. He will definitely produce though, alongside Peter Safran who will also co-produce The Trench.
Any details about the sequel’s plot are pure conjecture at this point. It is however reported that Aquaman 2 could feature The Others, a superhero team of sorts that Arthur Curry is a part of, where each member having their own special abilities. If true, this gives Aquaman his own team outside the Justice League, and further affirms Warner Bros.’ ambitions of developing less connected movies, with each movie developing into its own small cinematic universe.
In case you’re wondering, no Aquaman 2 won’t clash with any of James Cameron’s numerous Avatar sequels. While their dates are subject to change, thus far Avatar 2 has been set for a December 2020 release, with Avatar 3 to follow on December 2021. Cameron then takes a break and assuming the duo are successful, continues with Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 well into 2023 and 2024 respectively, leaving 2022 as the only gap year. Whether this was the true reason for Warner Bros. picking that date, or whether it had to do with Wan wanting to go Nolan’s route and take a healthy break between developing the movies is unknown (and will probably remain so).
Aquaman could still be playing in theaters in a limited capacity. In case you missed it, or want to catch it at your own luxury, the Blu-Ray release is just around the corner in full glorious 1080p and 4K.
