Despite The Reshoots And Uncertainty, Warner Still Has Faith In Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom

The direction of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is uncertain, considering that its plot has had several reshoots. Even so, Warner seems to have faith in the franchise, the first part of which brought in more than a billion dollars to the company’s coffers. 

The second installment of this saga is not on track, considering the reshoots and the times the movie was postponed. Also, several characters that were supposed to be in this film were left out. However, the last shots would apparently pass the quality tests of James Gunn and Peter Safran.  

Warner is Betting on The Lost Kingdom

image via warner Bros

Warner is betting on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to give an explosive ending to the DCEU. Aquaman has many postponements in its release, as well as plot changes and reshoots. Initially, it had planned its premiere for the end of 2021. However, now it will be at the end of 2023.

Not everything is the studio’s fault, though, since the pandemic greatly affected the development of this and other films globally. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also lost one of the most anticipated cameos by fans, Michael Keaton’s Batman. He was supposed to appear to make way for both the Batgirl movie and his appearance in The Flash.

Nevertheless, The Flash had its premiere first, as the merger of Warner and Discovery changed things. Initially, DC filmmaker Toby Emmerich and DC Studio head Walter Hamada headed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But both of them left after the two companies merged.

That led to removing Michael Keaton’s Batman from Aquaman and James Wan taking control of the plot. When this happened, there were several batches of reshoots on Aquaman. The first was with the appearance of Ben Affleck as Batman, announced by the film’s lead, Jason Momoa.

Now, after a reshoot of the film, Warner removed Ben Affleck’s scenes. According to Safran and Gunn’s comments, they don’t want to tie this film to past failures and have it become another one. It makes sense, especially considering Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would end this DC story, kicking off the new plot the filmmakers want to tell.

Last Batch of Aquaman Reshoots Successful

Image via IMDb

According to comments from James Gunn, Peter Safran and James Wan, the latest Aquaman reshoots were successful. Other sources indicated that the first DC Studios co-director mentioned gave a 5-day deadline to shoot all the new scenes, although Wan was even more effective and shot everything in 4 days.

All three filmmakers approved these Aquaman reshoots, which would indicate that they are of high quality, though it does raise the question of what they ended up shooting this time. Some claim that it is Keaton’s reappearance, although it seems unlikely, considering that The Flash was a flop and the actor’s presence did nothing to change that.

Others claim it could be part of the reboot and the effects Flashpoint caused in the DC world. From the post-credit scenes in The Flash, it would make sense with the appearance of George Clooney’s version of Batman. That could mean that the Dark Knight that could appear in the film will be this actor’s and not Keaton’s or Affleck’s.

To find out what Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has in store for us, we will have to keep an eye out for its trailer. We will also be able to see it in theaters on December 20, 2023.

Featured Image Via Warner Bros. Pictures