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Credit: Warner Bros.With the release of James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) right around the corner, new information is coming to light about what we can expect to see in the comic book sequel, or rather, what little there is of it, according to reports of its surprisingly short runtime.
Related: In Desperate Attempt To Save ‘Aquaman 2,’ Director Diverts Attention Away From Amber Heard
It’s been a long road for the sequel to DC Studios’ billion-dollar hit, Aquaman (2018). Starring Jason Momoa, the action-adventure flick follows the titular half-human, half-Atlantean prince as he sets out to lead the underwater kingdom of Atlantis by stopping his half-brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms and enacting his plan to destroy the surface world.
Once again helmed by James Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will see the return of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta, Temuera Morrison’s Tom Curry, and Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna, along with Momoa, Wilson, and perhaps most notably, Amber Heard, who plays Atlantean warrior and Arthur Curry’s love interest, Mera.
Related: DC Officially Brings Back the Justice League After Scrapping ‘Aquaman 2’ Release Date
Odds are, you’re familiar with the drama that has surrounded Heard since her former husband, Johnny Depp, sued her for defamation, with their highly-publicized legal battle taking the internet by storm in 2022. Depp, to the delight of loyal fans, won the case and was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $5 million.
As if enough damage hadn’t already been done to Heard, fans then petitioned for the actress to be removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom entirely, with her role in the upcoming film reportedly being trimmed down to just mere minutes.
And this wasn’t something Heard took lightly; a report published by Variety last month detailed the explosive behind-the-scenes feud between the Mera actress and her co-stars, specifically, Momoa, who Heard accused of “dressing like Johnny [Depp]” to mock her and drunkenly harassing her on set, wanting her fired.
However, a DC spokesperson came to Momoa’s defense soon after, saying that the actor “conducted himself in a professional manner at all times” while filming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. While it remains unknown to what capacity exactly Heard’s character will serve the story, it sounds like audiences can expect to see very little of Mera despite her and Arthur sharing a son.
And Mera’s role isn’t the only thing being cut short, as a new report suggests the upcoming Aquaman sequel has one of the shortest runtimes of any DCEU project to date.
According to trusted scooper @Cryptic4KQual on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will clock in at a respectable two hours and four minutes. This makes the movie slightly shorter than 2018’s Aquaman, which was two hours and 23 minutes. Still, this runtime places the follow-up just above 2020’s Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (one hour, 49 minutes) and 2017’s Justice League (two hours).
2 hours 4 minutes. FINAL
#aquamanandthelostkingdom
#aquaman #warnerbros
2 hours 4 minutes. FINAL#aquamanandthelostkingdom #aquaman #warnerbros https://t.co/WKpWrgzyB6 pic.twitter.com/J5MWa29Akr
— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@Cryptic4KQual) November 7, 2023
Considering the movie has found itself in choppy waters after over a year’s worth of delays, behind-the-scenes tensions, and poor test screenings, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that a good portion of the movie ended up on the cutting room floor, which could explain its roughly two-hour runtime.
Earlier this year, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom underwent extensive reshoots at Warner Bros. after early test screenings left audiences walking out at the movie’s mid-point. There’s a good chance that Wan and Co. decided to simply trim out any unnecessary scenes and work in some new ones, as signaled by the reshoots, to make a more cohesive story for the final cut.
Or, there’s also the very likely possibility that Warner Bros. trimmed off 20 or 30 minutes, which means it can play on a larger number of screens and, thus, make more money — something that might be sorely needed for the entertainment giant considering the movie took over four years to produce and cost an estimated $200 million. So if claims that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a disaster are correct, then every penny will count when it opens later this year.
It’s important to note that a two-hour runtime, especially for a superhero blockbuster, is perfectly normal, if anything, leaning toward the longer side compared to its fellow DCEU entries. Still, it’s surprising to learn that the Aquaman sequel isn’t, at least, longer than its predecessor, as it serves as the follow-up to one of the studio’s most lucrative films of all time and will be the final installment in the DCEU before Peter Safran and James Gunn’s “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” takes over.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will also mark Jason Momoa’s final outing as the titular hero, though it sounds like he won’t be getting a sprawling, epic goodbye from the franchise after all. However, as studios seem to be taking notice of, it’s getting increasingly more challenging to hold audiences’ attention, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to tell a tight, 120-minute story as long as the end product doesn’t feel rushed.
Only time will tell if Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was worth all the hassle when it arrives in theaters on December 22, 2023.
Are you skeptical about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, or do you have high hopes for the comic book sequel despite the noise? Let us know in the comments below!