‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Trailer Breakdown: Arthur and Orm Team Up in the Next Epic Adventure

We already thought that Warner Bros. and DC Studios had forgotten they have one more DCEU movie to release before the franchise is closed for good. To tell you the truth, we wouldn’t even be surprised if they’d axed the entire ‘Aquaman’ sequel, given all the previous commercial failures and everything going around DC Studios at the moment.

Regardless, the original ‘Aquaman’ movie, directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa in the title role, is still the highest-grossing DC movie of all time. And now, almost five years after its release, we finally watched the first official trailer for the sequel, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’ which promises another epic adventure in which Arthur Curry will need to seek the help of his former enemy and half-brother Orm to defeat Black Manta, who is seeking revenge against ‘Aquaman.’

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you can check it out below this paragraph. Keep reading if you’re interested in our trailer breakdown.

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Trailer Breakdown

The sequel takes place four years after the original, and a lot of things have happened to Arthur in the meantime.

Like it usually goes with the trailers for sequels, this one also begins by giving us a quick explanation of what the main character has been doing and what he has been up to since the last time we saw him. We learn that the events of the sequel are happening four years after the events of the original movie, which makes sense because the sequel was initially set to be released exactly four years after the release of the original before it was delayed.

As we’ve seen at the end of the original movie, Arthur is now King of Atlantis, an underwater kingdom with over half a billion different species from all over the seas. Four years later, he’s not only that but also a father. It’s interesting, although not surprising in a way, that the trailer featured only one half-a-second shot of Amber Heard’s Mera, indicating that her role was indeed heavily reduced as it was previously reported.

The first couple of scenes also show that Arthur is raising his kid in his home in the surface world, where his father still resides.

Black Manta returns for revenge!

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II debuted as David Kane in the original ‘Aquaman’ movie. He was the son of a pirate and high-seas mercenary whom Arthur left to die in a sinking submarine. Looking for revenge, he teamed up with Orm, who provided him with a tech to become Black Manta. However, Black Manta was only a supporting antagonist in the original movie, and now he got a promotion, so to speak.

The post-credit scene of the original movie showed that Black Manta isn’t done with his revenge plan, and the trailer for the sequel shows us that he’s ready for another strike. Black Manta is one of the most known Aquaman-related villains in DC Comics, so it’s no wonder we’ll see him in the sequel. What’s even better, although he looked really awesome in the original, the trailer is promising that the sequel will bring us Black Manta in all of his glory.

Orm returns, but (seemingly) not as a villain this time

With the return of the Black Manta, Arthur is warned by his mother, Atlanna, that if he isn’t stopped, the global meltdown will be imminent. Arthur decides to seek the help of his half-brother and former enemy, Orm, who is imprisoned under the Sahara in the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters.

Although we can see that this bromance between Arthur and Orm will be off to a rough start, it appears that the two brothers will develop a love-hate relationship that reminds us of Thor and Loki, which is always fun to watch. From what the rest of the trailer shows us, Arthur and Orm will need to stop Black Manta from retrieving Black Trident, which seems like some kind of MacGuffin for this movie, just like Trident of Atlan was in the original movie.

In search of the Black Trident…

The original ‘Aquaman’ movie followed Arthur and Mera in search of the Trident of Atlan. Judging by the trailer, the sequel will follow Arthur and Orm in search of the Black Trident. During the rule of King Atlan, the Black Trident was a curse upon all kingdoms, and its dark magic is now spreading. Black Manta plans to use it to exact his revenge against Aquaman. The rest of the trailer has dramatic music and quick shots that promise us one great epic adventure.

Given that it’s a sequel to the highest-grossing DC movie of all time, one would think that ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ would be one of the year’s most anticipated movies. However, with everything going on around DC Studios and the ongoing strikes that prevent promotion from actors, the sequels can already kiss goodbye with any hope of repeating the original movie’s success.

Still, just like the original movie, the sequel is also presented as a visually stunning cinematic experience, so there’s some hope that the movie can at least become the highest-grossing DC movie of this year, and the bar is pretty low for that.

Directed by James Wan, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is set to be released on December 20, 2023.

Are you looking forward to ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’? What do you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments.