James Wanreturns as director ofAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which seesJason MomoaandPatrick Wilsonreprise their rolesas Arthur Curry and his half-brother, Orm, in the final film of the DC Extended Universe. The pair join forces to avert the threat ofYahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta, who threatens global destruction with his nefarious plans. A few months back,Wan revealed that he had always pitched this story as atale of brotherhood. After the first film, which was the journey of Arthur Curry andAmber Heard’s Mera, Wan was determined to make this film a “bromance action-adventure movie.”
But for that to work, Wan needed that chemistry between Momoa and Wilson to truly pop. Luckily for the director, as he told Collider’sPerri Nemiroff,he discovered that their culture clash —Wilson’s Orm the spoiled prince, and Momoa’s Curry the laid-back warrior — made for engaging interplay, which audiences relished.“In the case of this movie, it really was that people really enjoyed the relationship between Arthur and Orm,” said Wan. “I think what people enjoy about this film is just the world exploration again, the world that we have created, but also going along this journey with these two characters.” He went on to add:
“Obviously, as you can see in the trailer, they don’t get along, they come from different worlds, and obviously they were antagonists in the first movie, but in this one, they had to kind of put their differences aside to try and work together to try and overcome a greater cause.I feel like that is such a universal theme that even applies for us in our world today that I really appreciate, and I hope people will be into that, as well.”
‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Is Like ‘Men in Black’
More amusingly, when observing the pair on set and in the edit, Wan found himself comparing them to another famous double act which made its name in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Citing the cult classicMen in Blackmoviesand in particular,the unlikely duo of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones,Wan made the point that a lot of the humor and joy in the film came as an inspiration from the work of Smith and Jones.
“They have really fun chemistry together. Again, Jason is kind loose and wild and just having fun, and Patrick plays it really kind of strict and rigid, so it’s kind of cool to see that contrast. It’s a little bit like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in theMen in Blackfilms. That’s kind of where the humor comes from.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomopens in theaters on July 07, 2025. You can check out the trailer for the upcoming movie below.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Arthur Curry, also known as Aquaman, embarks on an epic quest to a mysterious lost kingdom that could hold the key to saving Atlantis from a looming danger. Teaming up with allies old and new, he faces powerful adversaries and uncovers secrets long buried beneath the ocean’s depths.
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