‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Trailer: Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson Team Up Against Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

After dropping a teaser on Sunday, Warner Brothers Discovery debuted the official full-length trailer for the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to the 2018 hit original starring Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman. The new look at the film — which was released on Thursday, four days after the first teaser — gives fans a better idea of what they can expect from the superhero flick, including the return of Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman. 

Aquaman is now balancing his duties as both the King of Atlantis and a new father, Orm will step into a new role as his brother’s reluctant ally and Heard’s Mera will step fully into her role as Atlantis’ Queen and mother of the heir to the throne.

After being absent in the teaser, Mera returns in the new trailer for two brief flashes. The Queen of Atlantis is seen with her husband and family on the beach near their home before later appearing towards the trailer’s end, smashing through glass in what seems like the heat of battle. 

Last year, Heard’s team shut down speculation that the actress had been cut from the Aquaman sequel and that her character, Mera, was being recast after her high-profile trial began with ex-husband, Johnny Depp.

During the trial, the deposition of Walter Hamada, former President of DC-based film productions for Warner Bros. — about Heard and Momoa’s chemistry in the first film was played for the courts. Heard also took the stand and denied the claims that her ex-husband got her a role in the film.

The jury reached a verdict in her and Depp’s defamation trial in June 2022, awarding Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Depp’s punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state’s statutory cap. Heard was awarded $2 million by the jury in compensatory damages for her counterclaim but nothing in punitive damages.

Two years prior, in a separate libel trial in England in which Depp sued News Group Newspapers Ltd over an article published in The Sun, the presiding judge ruled against Depp, stating, “[T]he great majority of alleged assaults of Ms. Heard by Mr. Depp have been proved to the civil standard.”

“The rumor mill continues as it has from day one — inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane,” a spokesperson for Heard told ET about recasting speculation.

Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta is also back in the new Lost Kingdom trailer and is fiercely driven by the need to avenge his father’s death after having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time. And it seems the villain is determined to make good on his word, with the trailer showing clips of Arthur and his mother, Atlanna (Kidman), finding his childhood home engulfed in flames.

And this time around, it appears Black Manta has his own trident to combat Arthur’s. Black Manta is seen wielding the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force and makes an already lethal foe even deadlier.

According to the film’s synopsis, to defeat him, Aquaman must turn to his imprisoned brother, Orm (Wilson), 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.

The movie will pick up after the 2018 film’s ending, as well as Aquaman’s other adventures in the DC Universe in Justice League alongside Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Ezra Miller as The Flash.

Dolph Lundgren and Randall Park will also reprise their roles as King Nereus and Dr. Stephen Shin, respectively. 

Watch the trailer below.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is one of the last DC films to have been put into production before James Gunn and Peter Safran were named the new heads of DC Studios.

Gunn and Safran officially began running the newly created DC Studios within Warner Bros. Discovery back in October. In January, the co-chiefs gave a presentation announcing the first 10 film and TV titles within the rebooted DC Universe, including the previously announced Superman feature written by Gunn, Superman: Legacy.

The DCU exists as a multiverse, Safran said, but the titles will exist in one singular universe. 

Safran and Gunn left the door open for Gadot, Momoa and Miller to continue playing their respective DC superheroes, with the latter declaring that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would lead into this new phase of the DCU.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters on Dec. 20.

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