So far, almost the entirety of the online discourse surrounding Aquaman 2 has revolved around Amber Heard. Has she been fired? Is she getting fired? Are fans boycotting the movie? Is she going to have her screen time reduced? All of the above and much more have been asked over the last few months, and it’s a serious disservice to the rest of the cast and crew to focus all the talk on something that’s always going to generate negativity.
After all, Aquaman is still the highest-grossing DC Comics adaptation ever made and one of the most deliriously entertaining and achingly ridiculous blockbusters to come out of Hollywood in the last few years, so expectations should be suitably raised for the sequel. James Wan and the majority of his cast put their tongues firmly in cheek to deliver a wild romp that never took itself seriously, and leaned into the absurdity pouring out of every frame.
So far, Game of Thrones veteran Pilou Asbaek is the only new addition confirmed for the Aquaman 2 ensemble, but the majority of the major players from the first installment will be back to lend support to leading man Jason Momoa. That includes Heard, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and probably Willem Dafoe and Randall Park as well, while Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master will also be involved.
In fact, in a new interview, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It star teased a bigger, badder and better return to Atlantis when cameras start rolling in the not too distant future.
“I think like with anything with James, when he comes back for a sequel, it becomes bigger and better. And broader, and more funny, more action, more character work, it’s cool. It’s really fun, it’s super fun. I’ve been in training now for about eight weeks, and in a couple months we start. Well, they start in about a month and a half, a month or so they start.”
Wilson’s straight-faced performance in the opener was brilliant in how much it made him stand out in among all the scenery chewing, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he pitched his turn that way. Knowing how comic book sequels tend to work, though, chances are he’ll be getting a redemption arc of sorts in Aquaman 2.