Although we’ve recently seen Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and cameoing alongside Ezra Miller’s Flash in Peacemaker, we’re coming up on four full years since this version of the water-breathing DC superhero led his first solo movie. Fortunately, next spring will deliver the long-awaited arrival of Arthur Curry’s next time to shine on his own in a cinematic setting, Aquaman 2, a.k.a. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. While chatting about the sequel, Momoa shared how The Lost Kingdom will nod at one of his real-life passions.
It’s fitting that Jason Momoa plays a superhero who protects Earth’s oceans, as Jason Momoa is actually an environmental activist and was designated the United Nations’ Environment Programme’s Advocate for Life Below Water earlier this year. As far as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom goes, Momoa informed ET how the sequel will delve into the environmental problems that plague our planet, saying:
It's just laughs....me and Patrick [Wilson], it's a bit of a brother's journey, and so, it's a lot of funny stuff. And there's a lot of stuff that's just what's going on in our environment, talking about climate change and just hitting on certain things that I wanted to hit on.
While Jason Momoa didn’t elaborate in this interview about what this aspect of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would entail, in a GQ profile on Momoa from earlier this month, it was revealed that the sequel will contain a scene where Arthur Curry gives a “grand speech” to the United Nations to warn them of “the disaster looming on the horizon.” Talk about art imitating life… or rather, predicting life given when The Lost Kingdom filmed, as in June, Momoa addressed the United Nations in June during the Ocean Conference held in Lisbon. While the first Aquaman movie did show that Patrick Wilson’s Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, was motivated to destroy the surface world because of how it had polluted the oceans, now that Arthur is sitting on the Atlantean throne, he’s looking to take a more peaceful approach with getting humanity to change its ways.
As for Arthur Curry and Orm going on this “brother’s journey” in the high stakes Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, when we left off with these two characters in Aquaman, Arthur decided to imprison Orm for his crimes rather than execute him. Evidently The Lost Kingdom will provide enough incentive for Arthur to free Orm and embark on an adventure together where they’ll work towards a shared goal that may involve environmental concern. Jason Momoa added that along with the laughs, The Lost Kingdom has “a lot of pain” and “wonderful action to the next level.”
Other familiar faces returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom include Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, Amber Heard’s Mera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s David Kane/Black Manta, Willem Dafoe’s Nuidis Vulko, Dolph Lundgren’s King Nereus, Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna, Temuera Morrison’s Thomas Curry and Randall Park’s Dr. Stephen Shin. The Lost Kingdom’s cast also includes newcomers Vincent Regan, Jani Zhao, Indya Moore and Pilou Asbæk. James Wan and David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick reprised their respective directing and writing duties, and Jason Momoa also helped those two and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett with cracking the story.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is slated on the upcoming DC movies schedule for December 25, 2023. Jason Momoa can be seen in the final season of See, which is viewable with an Apple TV+ subscription.
