Aquaman 2 director James Wan has confirmed that the Lost Kingdom will feature certain details and elements that were originally part of the Black Manta spin-off movie, The Trench. At a special event that revealed the trailer for Aquaman’s sequel, Wan spoke about the impact of the abandoned Black Manta movie on the Lost Kingdom during an interview.
Aquaman 2 Director Discusses Black Manta’s Influence On The Sequel
When Aquaman became a box office hit for Warner Bros., they had plans to create a full-blown franchise around the world of Atlantis. One of the envisioned projects was The Trench, a spinoff centering on the origin of the aquatic creatures seen in the first film. Unfortunately, the project was shelved before it could begin, so viewers never got to experience whatever James Wan had in store for that part of Aquaman’s world.
He said,
“We had developed the Trench movie, and ultimately, like most things, you develop — if they work out, great, if they don’t, then that’s fine as well. We didn’t want that project to potentially step on the Aquaman films, but we came up with a lot of really interesting ideas and really cool stuff that I felt we could use it in this one.”
He further added how when The Trench got shelved, he decided to incorporate certain elements of the movie into the Jason Momoa-led sequel.
“And so with the Trench movie, it was going to be a secret Black Manta, right? Initially, we announced it as a Trench movie, but ultimately, we wanted to surprise the fans because that was going to be a stand-alone Black Manta movie. And so when that didn’t happen, some of those ideas kind of found its way into this there.”
Black Manta Will Return As The Main Antagonist In The Lost Kingdom
Abdul-Mateen’s Black Manta, the secondary villain from Wan’s first Aquaman movie, comes back as the main villain for the sequel. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will focus on the connection between half-brothers Arthur Curry and Orm Marius/Ocean Master (the main antagonist of the first movie), and both Momoa and Patrick Wilson will be back to play their characters.
The movie’s official synopsis reads as follows:
“Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force.
To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.”
Why Was The Trench Canceled?
In 2018’s Aquaman, Jason Momoa‘s character Arthur Curry/Aquaman, and Amber Heard’s character Mera had to travel to the perilous Kingdom of the Trench, a region of the ocean inhabited by a vicious group of Atlanteans. In 2019, Warner Bros. Pictures revealed plans for a horror-infused spin-off film about the Trench, with James Wan serving as a producer and Aidan Fitzgerald writing the script.
However, in 2021, Warner Bros. announced that they had decided against making Wan’s Trench spin-off and DuVernay’s New Gods movie. Although the studio mentioned that the projects could be brought back, it appears to be very unlikely. Later, Wan exposed that the Trench spin-off was actually a secret Black Manta movie featuring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in a primary role as Aquaman’s enemy.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits the theatres on December 20, 2023. Watch the official trailer below:
