When Aquaman flooded into cinemas on the finish of 2018, it appeared intent on being extra than simply an ocean-based comedian guide blockbuster. Across its runtime, it took in every kind of different genres – moments of (literal) fish-out-of-water comedy; that all-out horror sequence within the Trench; scenes of Indiana Jones-esque action-adventure; a Mamma Mia-ish jaunt to mediterranean climes. And for his sequel, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, director James Wan is trying in the direction of one other style template to fuse with the calls for of a thunderous action-fantasy movie.
“From the beginning, I pitched that the primary movie could be a Romancing The Stone-type factor – an action-adventure romantic comedy – whereas the second could be an outright buddy comedy,” he tells Empire within the world-exclusive new Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom situation. “I wished to do Tango & Cash!” Buddying up with Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry – now wrangling not solely with being King Of Atlantis, however with the calls for of newfound fatherhood too – is none aside from Patrick Wilson’s Orm. Aquaman’s half-brother was the one inflicting chaos final time round; now, Curry wants him to face down Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s returning Black Manta. The result’s a basic chalk-and-cheese dynamic. “Jason performs Arthur larger-than-life; Patrick performs the straight man,” teases Wan. “It’s not in contrast to what Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones did in Men In Black – like Tommy, Patrick performs it dry, however very humorous.”
While the dynamic is completely different this time round, Wan’s plan was at all times to choose up the place Aquaman left off – delivering an epic subsequent chapter in a world of bioluminescent battles and aquatic awe. “It’s like they’re one huge film,” he explains. “If you watch them back-to-back, they roll proper into one another.” In reality, why not make it a triple-bill with Tango & Cash besides?
Read Empire’s full world-exclusive Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom cowl story – talking to James Wan about his journey following up DC’s mega-splash blockbuster, tapping again into his horror roots, and navigating the altering course of the DCEU – within the December 2023 situation. Pre-order a duplicate on-line right here, or turn out to be an Empire member to entry the digital version on launch day. Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom involves UK cinemas from 20 December.
