Warner Bros. showed footage from the DC Extended Universe's Aquaman movie at SDCC 2017 but won’t release it online - so when will fans get to watch it? The studio officially launched the DCEU last spring with the premiere of Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, a loose followup to the director's 2013 film, Man of Steel. However, Batman V Superman wasn't well liked by critics, and inspired a decidedly divisive reaction among casual moviegoers and DC fans. The film was followed last year by David Ayer's Suicide Squad, which saw a similar reception - poor reviews and mixed audience reactions. The narrative surrounding the DCEU has since improved with the debut of Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, which earned glowing reviews and record-breaking box office numbers.
Now, Warner Bros. is turning toward its upcoming DCEU entries, most notable being Snyder's Justice League and James Wan's Aquaman. The studio has a handful of other films in development, even unveiling a new tentative slate at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, and recently announced Shazam! is next to hit theaters after Aquaman. However, the DCEU portion of Warner Bros' Hall H panel at Comic-Con this year was largely focused on Aquaman and Justice League - the latter even more than the former.
Related: WB Unveils FIRST Aquaman Footage at SDCC
During Warner Bros' panel, the studio unveiled a new Justice League trailer, which was immediately released online to the delight of fans around the globe. The studio also screened a short Aquaman teaser, the first footage to be shown from the DCEU film, but that hasn't made its way online - and it won't. The Aquaman Comic-Con teaser footage was a Hall H exclusive that won't be released to the public - at least, not anytime soon.
Based on reports from Hall H, the Aquaman footage largely worked to tease the major conflict of the movie by showcasing the army of Orm Marius/Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson), the brother of Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa). It also teased some of the underwater effects that fans can expect from the King of Atlantis' solo adventure. However, those in Hall H also reported the effects didn't look finished. While it isn't uncommon for studios to screen footage with unfinished effects for press or those in attendance of major presentations, they rarely - if ever - release that same unfinished footage to the public, and Aquaman direcor James Wan echoed that same sentiment on Twitter:
ThankU everyone who came out to Hall H. That was an early-peek made strictly for #SDCC. Im still filming & not quite ready to share wide yet— James Wan (@creepypuppet) July 23, 2017
That said, if the Comic-Con teaser for Aquaman used footage that will be included in the final cut of the film - which isn't a foregone conclusion since footage gets left on the cutting room floor all the time - fans may get to see the scenes described by Hall H attendees in an official Aquaman trailer, or the movie itself, once it's released. It's unclear when Warner Bros. will release the first trailer for Aquaman. Since Wan's film is in the middle of filming and the movie isn't set to hit theaters until December 2018, we may get an initial teaser as early as this November, when Justice League hits theaters, or as late as early-2018.
Of course, fans may not want to wait until 2018 for their first look at Aquaman, but for those excited to see Momoa's take on Arthur Curry, they'll be able to see him suit up alongside his fellow superheroes in Justice League later this year. Wan's Aquaman will hit theaters only little more than a year later.
