When people think of the DC films of the past several years, they mostly think of the failures. The controversies. What they don’t usually think of are the successes, of which there were many, and none more so than Aquaman. James Wan’s 2018 film starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Temuera Morrison (what a cast!) grossed over $US1.1 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing DC film ever. Including all the Batman movies!
That said, you’d think there would be more excitement that, next week, its sequel is finally arriving. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been a long wait, but it brings back virtually everyone from the original film, including Wan, who time and time again has proved himself to be one of our most masterful blockbuster filmmakers.
Before Lost Kingdom hits theatres on December 22 you can, a) rewatch Aquaman, which we highly recommend, or b) scroll down where we’ll catch you up with the pertinent information needed.
Aquaman is freaking awesome
Before we get to plot specifics, it just feels important to say that. There’s a good reason why Aquaman made so much money. It’s pure joy in superhero form. James Wan hit the perfect tone, blending humor and heart, with very obvious self-awareness and pure excitement. It’s big, it’s dumb, it knows this and buys into it but never goes too over the top. The film realizes playing a cover of Toto’s “Africa” as the character go to Africa is ridiculous and that’s the point. Aquaman is just plain fun.
Arthur’s parents
Aquaman (Arthur Curry, played by Jason Momoa) is the son of Tom (Temuera Morrison), a New England lighthouse keeper, and Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the Queen of Atlantis.
Atlanna was arranged to be married to a man she didn’t want to be with and fled the seas. Tom found her, they fell in love, and had Arthur, proof that the people of the ocean and the surface could co-exist… in more ways than one. Arthur’s existence threatened the kingdoms of the sea, and infuriated the powers that be, so Atlanna was forced to return to Atlantis leaving her new family behind.
All his life, Arthur was led to believe his mother was killed because of this, but she survived and reemerged once Arthur finally claimed the throne of Atlantis. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Arthur’s brother
When Atlanna returned to the ocean, she married the man she was supposed to and had a son, Orm (Patrick Wilson). Orm despises his older half-brother, whom he has never met, and begins a plan to unite all the kingdoms of the sea to take over the surface. It’s this development that finally brings Arthur back to Atlantis.
The two fight and—after proving he’s the true heir to the throne—Arthur triumphs and Orm is arrested.
Arthur’s squeeze
Arthur, who has spent his adult life saving people but rejecting his heritage, is alerted to Orm’s plan by Mera (Amber Heard), the daughter of King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren). She’s supposed to marry Orm, but she betrays him to help Arthur on his journey, with the two falling in love in the process.
Arthur’s abilities
Because his mother is of Atlantis, and he’s the rightful king, Arthur has the ability to communicate with all creatures of the sea. It’s what makes him most unique from everyone else down there. Because they, like him, are also all super strong and can swim with super speed.
We also see, in Aquaman as well as Justice League, that Arthur also has a superhuman ability to party. Whether or not that comes into play in the new film remains to be seen.
Arthur’s claim to the throne
To prove to the people of the sea that he deserves to be king, Arthur goes on a quest to find the Trident of Atlan, the weapon of Atlantis’ first king, which has been lost for centuries. Arthur does find it and, after besting a massive, mythical beast called the Karathen, he returns to Atlantis and saves it from Orm’s devious plan. With the Trident, proof that he’s the one true king, Arthur can now take the throne, despite being half-human.
Arthur’s kingdom
As King of Atlantis, Arthur is not just the leader there, he’s the leader of all the nations of the sea. There’s Atlantis, Xebel, Fishermen, Brine, Trench, Deserters, and a lost seventh kingdom that no one knows what happened to.
And while Arthur is clearly now the ruler of all these places, they too each have rulers who, we’d imagine, aren’t all happy this outsider has now come to their world.
Arthur’s nemesis
Before returning to Atlantis, Arthur stopped a group of well-equipped sea pirates from taking over a submarine. Their leader was a man named David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who learned the ropes of pirating from his father. Arthur defeats the father and son but shows them mercy and leaves them to escape on their own. In the chaos, David’s father dies and he blames Arthur.
We later learn that David was working for Orm to help start the war against the surface and Orm gives him a bunch of highly advanced Atlantian technology.
Adopting the nickname of his pirate grandfather, David becomes Black Manta. Manta attempts to kill Arthur and Mera on their journey for the Trident but fails. He’s saved by Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park), a scientist obsessed with Atlantis but never able to prove it. Manta tells Shin he’ll help him prove it if he helps him find Aquaman.
DC connections?
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last film standing from the old DC universe. As such—though Arthur Curry has met and fought along with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and the Flash—it’s unclear if any of that matters in this movie, or if it’ll matter in the future. We last saw Arthur, though, with Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) as Barry explained the multiverse to him. So Arthur is, at least, aware of other versions of himself and his fellow Justice League members existing in other universes.