Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to 2018’s 5th highest-grossing film, Aquaman, has begun principal photography in London. Aquaman grossed over $1.8 billion in ticket sales, is today the highest-grossing DCEU film and the highest-grossing film based on a DC character. The movie starred actors Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, and Nicole Kidman are all slated to return for the sequel and director James Wan.
Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman developed the story for the sequel during the first film itself with screenwriter David Johnson-McGoldrick. James Wan, who is best known for writing and directing the Saw, Conjuring, and Insidious movie franchises, hinted in 2019 that the prospective sequel will introduce the seven underwater kingdoms somehow.
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was scheduled to start filming in 2020; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the filming was delayed till 2021. Amber Heard, who plays Mera, princess of Excel, shared a video on Twitter of her training on the set of Aquaman 2.
The video shows training for combat with staff and having a ‘non-traditional martial arts victory dance’ in the end.
Fans were undoubtedly excited to see the short staff-twirling video as Mera had only used her magic and hand-to-hand combat in Aquaman but was seen carrying her trident when she sought revenge on Superman in the Snyder cut of Justice league If you follow Heard on social media. You know she doesn’t shy away from sharing little tidbits of her exhausting training for the film.
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The inclusion of Heard in the sequel is contentious amongst many fans due to accusations of domestic abuse levied against her by her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp. An online petition, which received more than 1.5 million signatures, made headlines as fans asked Warner bros. to fire heard from the sequel in retaliation to Depp getting fired from the third Fantastic Beasts film. However, Peter Safran, the producer of the film, has insinuated that the production has decided not to react to any fan pressure or online petition and keep Heard on as Mera.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is slated to be released in December of 2022. The upcoming DCEU film schedule is very exciting, with The Batman, Black Adam, the Flash, and Aquaman 2 released.
