Nicole Kidman is reportedly reprising her role as Atlanna in the upcoming Aquaman 2. Kidman first played the Queen of Atlantis and mother of Arthur Curry/Aquaman in 2018's Aquaman, which featured Jason Momoa in the title role. The sequel, officially titled Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is currently scheduled to release on December 16, 2022.
Directed by James Wan, best known as the horror filmmaker who started franchises like Saw and The Conjuring, the first Aquaman remains one of the DC Extended Universe's more successful features. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly for Wan's colorful vision and Momoa's performance, which stood out even in the maligned Whedon cut of Justice League. Multiple characters have already been confirmed to return in Aquaman 2, including Amber Heard's Mera and Patrick Wilson's Orm Marius/Ocean Master, but there has been no official word on Kidman so far.
However, Variety notes that numerous media outlets in Hong Kong, where Kidman was filming the Amazon series Expats, have reported her return in Aquaman 2. While the stories focus primarily on supposed tension on the Expats set that Amazon denies led to Kidman leaving early, the online news publication HK01 reports that Kidman will soon travel to the U.K. to film for the DCEU movie. Oriental Daily also reported that Kidman will again be portraying Aquaman's mother.
Warner Bros. has yet to respond to these reports, but should they prove true, it is worth wondering why the company has yet to announce Kidman's appearance in Aquaman 2. In the original film, Atlanna is found alive after having presumably been sacrificed two decades prior and reunites with Arthur's human father, allowing him to ascend to the Atlantean throne. Wan has said Aquaman 2 is more complex than its predecessor, so it's possible there's a more disruptive role planned for Atlanna this time around. It also could be that Warner Bros. was simply waiting until the busy Kidman had wrapped to confirm she would take part.
In refuting the Expats news, an Amazon spokesman claimed Kidman "always had other projects she was committed to," suggesting her shooting schedule has been penciled in for some time. It's possible the Aquaman 2 team is trying to keep her inclusion a secret to better prevent a very active DCEU fanbase from guessing the plot in advance, but it's just as likely Kidman could show up for a third-act cameo, taking advantage of that moment when the viewer is pleasantly surprised to see a recognizable face. How Warner Bros. chooses to respond to the reports should offer a clue, even if that response is to completely ignore them.
Source: Variety
