Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be the final nail in the coffin for the scrapped DCEU initiative. Now it looks like early impressions for the films are not better than many Warner Bros. productions that preceded it, at least according to several online sources.
DC's next movie in line is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but the studio’s tentpole movie for 2023 is still The Flash, especially after its Super Bowl trailer premiere wowed so many people and given the movie’s role in setting up James Gunn's new DC Universe. Nevertheless, another quality distinguishing The Flash from its contemporaries is that Warner executives are reportedly optimistic about its potential due to positive test screenings, which is allegedly the opposite of what Aquaman has been going through.
The news comes from Big Screen Leaks (@bigscreenleaks), who picked up on reports from an anonymous Reddit user called ViewerAnon that claimed after “a dozen test screenings in,” Aquaman 2 is looking far from great. ViewerAnon called it “boring, not as good as the first” and placed it towards the lower end of DC movies. BSL backed up that opinion by citing the many inconveniences James Wan has had to deal with when making Aquamam and The Lost Kingdom.
Besides the controversy surrounding Amber Heard and her defamation trial opposite Johnny Depp, the movie has been hit with rumors that the alleged Batman cameos that featured Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck at some point were cut for these screenings. These reports follow news that Aquaman star Jason Momoa has been looking to ditch the seven seas in favor of playing the DC character Lobo in the future. Momoa has been teasing a "dream" DC project, but details are scarce.
It’s even unclear if Affleck will show up in Aquaman 2. However, it’s been reported that Heard doesn't have much screen time, among the negative consequences the actress’ attorneys claimed she suffered during the infamous trial proceedings. For his part, Gunn's presentation of his DC slate did mention the Shazam sequel and Blue Beetle as films that existed on their own, but Aquaman 2's December release makes it look like even more of an afterthought for the studio.
Despite its flaws, the first Aquaman film became one of the DCEU's biggest hits by making $1.119 billion. However, the sequel’s reported $205M budget and the generally worse landscape for superhero blockbusters in 2023 could turn Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom into a liability if the movie is not up to par.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled for release on December 25, 2023.
Source: @bigscreenleaks | Twitter