What is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom about?

“Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all,” the official synopsis reads. “This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.”

Directed by James Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also stars Patrick Wilson as Orm, Amber Heard as Mera, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, and Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s story comes from Wan, Momoa, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, with Johnson-McGoldrick writing the screenplay. Wan also produces the movie alongside Peter Safran and Rob Cowan, while Galen Vaisman and Walter Hamada serve as executive producers.

The film marks the final entry in the DCEU, which began in 2013 with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Following Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, James Gunn and Safran’s new DCU begins in 2024 with the animated Creature Commandos series before Superman: Legacy then arrives in July 2025.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases in United States theaters on December 22, 2023.