We’ve known for a while now that James Wan was likely to direct a second Aquaman film—that’s sort of just what happens when you become the first movie in your overall franchise to break that big, shiny, billion-dollar box office mark. But while there have been a few notable diversions along the way—including the woefully misguided CGI monster movie spin-off concept The Trench, which we will never stop making fun of everyone involved for floating—details about the Aquaman follow-up film have been pretty scant. Until now, that is, as Wan has revealed the title for the film on his Instagram account this evening. Buckle up, fish fans: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is set to swim into theaters on December 16, 2022.
Now: Which lost kingdom do you think they mean?
Obviously, there are plenty of options for Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, both expected to return, to tackle within the pretty wide umbrella of lost civilizations that have cropped up throughout human history. The Lost City Of El Dorado is a popular choice, after all, and all that gold would certainly fit the franchise’s color palette pretty well. Or they could try to hit up Shangi-La, or maybe Agartha, deep within the Hollow Earth. That’s to say nothing of the various sunken kingdoms, like Lemuria, Mu, or Avalon, all of which, scholars believe, take their cues from the most famous “lost kingdom,” Atlan—
Oh.
Okay, so it’s probably Atlantis, now that we think about it. The Lost Kingdom is Atlantis.
Wan’s next film (not counting his numerous producing credits, including the most recent Conjuring movie) is the upcoming horror flick Malignant, currently aiming at a September release on HBO Max. In addition to Momoa and Heard, Aquaman And The List Kingdom is set to feature the return of co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, whose vengeance-seeking villain Black Manta featured prominently in the original movie’s obligatory post-credits scene.