Aquaman 2 Sets Unexpected Record With Its First Trailer

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has set a new record for the DC Extended Universe which involves its long-awaited first trailer.

A new record for the DC Extended Universe has been set with the long-awaited trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

According to the Direct, the King of the Seven Seas' return to the silver screen now has the shortest window in the DCEU between the release of the first trailer for a movie in the franchise and said movie's theatrical release date, with the former still not having been released for The Lost Kingdom. An earlier record was set by fellow 2023 DC film The Flash, which had 124 days between its first trailer being released on Feb. 12 and the movie itself hitting theaters on June 16.

Regarding the actual project itself, returning director James Wan discussed The Lost Kingdom's standalone nature, stating, "Well, Aquaman – even the first film – has always been a very standalone film. That was always our approach: that it kind of lives in its own world, and that's kind of how we've approached The Lost Kingdom as well." Wan also noted that he and his production team were taking the film "to the next level" and were "still expanding [its world]," going on to add, "this is the next level and I'm very excited to finally put out there to show them what we've been working on all these years."

The Lost Kingdom being more standalone had been previously brought up by Wan in an earlier interview, wherein he talked about how he had to change the movie for it to fit in with the new DC Universe. "The DCU has been through lots of different versions, and one of the things that was challenging about this film was keeping track of what's going on," remarked Wan. "Fortunately, the Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world. We're going to many different underwater kingdoms that are not necessarily related to what's happening with the other movies and characters, so we're stand-alone in that respect. So I can just tell my story on its own without being affected too much, but at the same time, I have to be mindful of what's been happening."

What Will Happen in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom?

As for the film's plot, Wan confirmed that The Lost Kingdom will have the Marine Monarch team up with his evil half-brother Orm to "stop a vengeful Black Manta from unleashing a powerful ancient evil." However, what this ancient evil is has not yet been revealed.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives in theaters on Dec. 20.