It just goes to show how far the DCEU has fallen in the last few years that not a single soul is going to be surprised if the long-awaited sequel to the franchise’s highest-grossing installment is both a terrible movie and a box office bomb, which is where we find ourselves with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
After all, the troubled superhero saga hasn’t even managed to clear $400 million in ticket sales since the opening installment arrived back in December of 2018, never mind the repeated rumors of bad buzz emerging from behind the scenes that have already painted James Wan’s follow-up with the label of being a disaster waiting to happen.
Throw in renewed allegations of unsavory on-set antics involving stars Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, never mind the dual-pronged threat of boycotts potentially impacting its earning power, and the last thing The Lost Kingdom needs is any more external tales of woe. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening.
James Gunn’s arch-nemesis Grace Randolph claimed that viewers have actively upped and left free test screenings of Aquaman 2, which was then backed up by fellow self-proclaimed “insider” MyTimeToShineHello. Of course, the sketchy world of comic book rumor-mongering should never be taken entirely as gospel, but it’s worth noting nonetheless that the latter is quite happy to discredit the former’s supposed “scoops” on a regular basis, so finding them in agreement is at least noteworthy.
Is it true, though? The closer we get to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swimming into theaters, the more we’ll hear about its perceived quality or lack thereof, making it a dicey time for DC die-hards everywhere.