Credit: DC StudiosIt’s been a bumpy ride for James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), which is still months away from its December 2023 premiere date. From disgraced Mera actress Amber Heard’s diminished role in the film to early viewers calling it borderline “unwatchable,” it’s not looking good for the eagerly-awaited DC sequel. And now, the movie is once again raising eyebrows after new information has come to light about the frankly jaw-dropping amount of visual effects that went into every scene.
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Things are looking pretty grim for the DC Extended Universe as their last wave of pre-James Gunn releases continue to roll out to…mixed reviews, to say the least. Although August’s Blue Beetle (2023) looks like it has potential, Ezra Miller’s The Flash (2023) largely failed to win over audiences and critics, continuing a long string of unremarkable additions like Wonder Woman 1984 (2019). And based on what we know so far, it seems like DC’s final release of the year, the sequel to 2019’s Aquaman, very well might follow suit.
Starring Jason Momoa as the titular King of Atlantis, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will also see several A-listers reprising their roles, including Patrick Wilson as King Orm, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane (AKA the Black Manta), Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, and perhaps most contentiously, Amber Heard, who plays Arthur Curry’s love interest, Mera.
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Of course, Heard was at the center of the most highly-publicized legal battle in recent history after her former husband, Johnny Depp, sued her for defamation because of an op-ed she published in the Washington Post in 2018. Depp eventually won the trial and was awarded $15 million in damages, making his ex-wife the target of seemingly endless scrutiny online.
Although it’s been well over a year since the case was closed, fans still have much to say about Heard, especially after she was confirmed to be still starring in the Aquaman sequel—despite having a significantly minimized role. Reports claim that the actress has just 20 minutes of screen time in the new film, where it will be revealed that Mera is pregnant with her and Arthur’s baby.
But Amber Heard is hardly the only issue surrounding Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. On Wednesday morning, The Hollywood Reporter released a lengthy piece on the upcoming DC installment detailing its turbulent production, which included multiple rounds of re-shoots, endless test screenings, and going way beyond its original $205 million budget.
In the report, the outlet confirmed that every movie frame involves visual effects, which undoubtedly contributed to its multi-million dollar price tag. Some of the chaos can be attributed to the filmmakers’ decision to add such extensive effects, which set the Aquaman sequel back by over a year due to overloaded VFX houses.
Obviously, any Aquaman movie requires a sizable amount of VFX and CGI for its underwater sequences, talking fish-people, and battles with shark-riding warriors. But beyond the sheer spectacle, many superhero movies thrive in their more grounded moments outside of life-threatening fights and flashy action sequences. For instance, the scenes between Arthur’s biological parents on land were easily a highlight of the first film, laying the groundwork for the story while giving us some solid character moments.
However, the first Aquaman set the bar high when utilizing groundbreaking VFX, which was an unquestionable pull factor the first time around. And with the next movie set to take place primarily in Atlantis, unlike the globetrotting expedition of the first, it’s understandable that nearly every shot will need to feature VFX in some capacity.
Considering 2019’s Aquaman passed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, it’s no surprise that Warner Bros. and DC are essentially doing a repeat of their greatest hits, seemingly adding plenty of crowd-pleasing underwater action sequences to give audiences what they want.
With so much riding on the success of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, only time will tell if it was worth the hassle.
What do you think of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom allegedly featuring VFX in every frame? Are you excited for the movie? Let us know in the comments below.