James Wan’s Aquaman was a very stupid movie, and that’s meant as a compliment in this instance. Had the filmmaker approached the comic book adaptation with the same self-seriousness that defined the Zack Snyder era of the DCEU, then Arthur Curry’s solo debut could have been a disaster. After all, this is a guy who talks to fish, while the majority of the supporting cast live under the sea.
Luckily, Wan decided to opt for fun above all else, and as a result, Aquaman was the sort of crowd-pleasing blockbuster that allows you to switch off your brain, sit back and enjoy how ridiculous it all is. There’s an octopus that plays a drum solo, an army of warriors riding giant seahorses into battle against an opposing faction on the backs of sharks, and screen legend Julie Andrews voices a sea monster, but it all works because the whole thing is so damn entertaining.
Hopefully that approach carries on with the sequel, which is set to start shooting within the next few months. What exactly it’ll bring us, we don’t yet know, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us that Ben Affleck would be returning to the DCEU in The Flash long before it was confirmed – that Aquaman 2 is set to double down and include even more “giant undersea monsters,” which looks to be Warner Bros.’ new big budget calling card given the buzz generated by Godzilla vs. Kong.
Of course, you can never go too far wrong with giant monsters, and it certainly beats the opening/closing of portals or blue sky beam traps that a lot of superhero movies tend to fall into. Besides, looking at how far Wan was able to lean into the insanity last time out, Aquaman 2 could be twice as epic and ten times more fun than its predecessor.