The DC Extended Universe will return to theaters this June with director Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, followed by Zack Snyder's Justice League in November. Meanwhile, on the production side of things, director James Wan is gearing up to begin filming Aquaman. The solo DCEU film headlined by Jason Momoa will mark the actor's third time playing Arthur Curry/Aquaman after a cameo in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and his upcoming appearance in Justice League.
Aquaman was originally slated to open in theaters in July of 2018, before it was shifted back to October 5th of that year, seemingly in response to fellow DCEU movies The Flash and The Batman hitting snags over the course of their own pre-production processes. While location scouting for Aquaman is already well-underway and filming is still expected to begin as previously-scheduled, Wan will now have a couple of extra months to get the King of the Seas' adventure into theaters.
Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that Aquaman will now be hitting theaters on December 21, 2018. That release date was previously being semi-officially reserved for Avatar 2, so WB's decision to shift Aquaman back was apparently motivated by James Cameron's announcement that Avatar 2 won't be ready by 2018, just this past week. As it stands, Sony's untitled animated Spider-Man movie is now slated to arrive in theaters on the same day as Aquaman.
Despite the delays, Aquaman still seems to be moving along in pre-production. Much of the core cast has been filled out, with Amber Heard already training for her role as Mera, Aquaman's wife. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II recently came onboard as the villainous Black Manta, who will join Patrick Wilson's Ocean Master as a threat for Aquaman. Meanwhile, Temuera Morrison is set to play Arthur's father, while Nicole Kidman will be playing Arthur's mother. Director James Wan has also hired his Conjuring 2 cinematographer for the DCEU film, so expect the same quality of shots as the hit horror movie.
Like the Justice League footage Snyder teased involving Aquaman, we know Arthur Curry's solo adventures will employ a good deal of underwater filming, given the movie's setting. As such, the delay will allow more time for Wan to handle the challenges presented by the technology needed to create underwater sequences. Interestingly enough, Avatar 2 is also expected to feature a number of underwater scenes and will be facing similar technological difficulties, from a filmmaking perspective. With the start of filming on Aquaman right around the corner, we should know more about the movie's progress sooner, rather than later.
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Source: Warner Bros.
