All 5 Aquaman Movies & Appearances in Order
Aquaman is among the most iconic superheroes of all time. There’s hardly a person out there who hasn’t heard of the famous aquatic superhero prince and his ability to communicate with the fish. While Aquaman has a rich comic book history, his live-action portrayals are falling short. That seems to be changing in recent years, with Aquaman’s inclusion into the DCEU and Jason Momoa portraying him superbly. In honor of that, let’s see what are the Aquaman movies in order and how many are there.
Editor’s Note: this watch order was updated in December 2023 with the release of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’
All 5 movies featuring Aquaman in release date order
There are technically only two movies featuring Aquaman released in 2018 and 2023, but the character has been featured in the DCEU numerous times. If we count his appearances in live-action DCEU movies then there are 5 movies to discuss. Even though, it’s important to mention that Aquaman appeared “off-screen” in ‘Man of Steel’ (2013) and in a photo in ‘Suicide Squad’ (2016) since we’re counting appearances only, we’re not going to discuss these films further.
- ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘ (2016)
- ‘Justice League‘ (2017)
- ‘Aquaman‘ (2018)
- ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League‘ (2021)
- ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ (2023)
Are all movies featuring Aquaman connected? What is the best way to watch them?
Yes, all movies featuring Aquaman are connected. The characters, as well as the stories, are connected. The movies are set in the same DCEU universe, and the events of each movie reference the events of past movies. ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is a direct sequel to 2018 ‘Aquaman.
You should watch movies featuring Aquaman in order, as all DCEU movies follow a chronological timeline. Aquaman’s standalone movie is set exactly 1 year after the events of Justice League. We’ve mentioned before that Zack Snyder’s Justice League can be watched after Justice League or in place of Justice League, but in any case, it should be watched before Aquaman released in 2018.
Aquaman movies in chronological order
Luckily for us, all movies featuring Aquaman were released in their proper chronological orders, with ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ being the first point in time as far as Aquaman DCEU goes and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ being the last.
1. ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ was released back in 2016. The film was directed by Zack Snyder and featured Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and other great names. While some casting choices were heavily criticized, some were praised.
‘Dawn of Justice’ is also the first movie on our Aquaman list where the character was featured as a part of a DCEU. Jason Momoa appeared as Aquaman in a video where Wonder Woman was watching “meta-human” sightings, just like the Flash. While Aquaman’s role was small and inconsequential, you gotta start somewhere.
The movie itself wasn’t received all that well. But at least it managed to launch Jason Momoa as Aquaman.
2. ‘Justice League’ (2017)
In ‘Justice League’ released in 2017, Aquaman was featured in a somewhat greater role. He was once again portrayed by Jason Momoa, starring alongside Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, who reprised their roles from ‘Dawn of Justice.’
As we’ve mentioned, Aquaman has a bigger role in this movie, although it is still a bit one-dimensional. Aquaman is featured in a fight against Steppenwolf as well as in a fight against Superman.
‘Justice League’ wasn’t received all too well, just like ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ wasn’t. However, this time, problems can be found in the ‘Justice League’s’ troubled production process.
3. ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)
When Snyder’s cut of ‘Justice League’ was released, fans were expecting to see more Aquaman featured in it, especially after Momoa delivered a superb performance in his stand-alone movie.
In Snyder’s cut, Aquaman was featured more. His relationships with Nuidis Vulko and Mera were given a bit more detail and depth.
4. ‘Aquaman’ 2018
Aquaman’s stand-alone movie is the first movie on this list that features Aquaman in a huge and significant role, I mean it’s obvious from the title. The movie was announced back in 2014 with James Wan as the director.
Naturally, Jason Momoa was starring as Arthur Curry/ Aquaman alongside Amber Heard as Mera. Several other great names appeared in the movie as well, such as Willem Dafoe (Nuidis Vulko), Patrick Wilson (Orm Marius), and Dolph Lundgren (King Nereus).
The ‘Aquaman’ movie continues where ‘Justice League’ (2017) left off. It follows the life of Arthur Curry (Aquaman) in the aftermath of Steppenwolf’s defeat. We get a closer look at Aquaman’s aquatic family as well as his society and culture, which, at the given moment, wants to destroy our surface civilization. This is the movie that shows the transformation of Aquaman into a true superhero and a king to his people. Aquaman’s stand-alone movie was also the first movie in which he appears to have gotten overall positive reviews.
5. ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ (2023)
Aquaman’s second stand-alone movie was kind of a bitter-sweet affair, it was an overall enjoyable movie but marked the end of the DCEU. In the last DCEU installment, Aquaman is freshly married with a son and performing the duties of King of Atlantis. However, an old enemy discovers something forgotten but extremely dangerous under Antarctic ice and attacks not only Atlantis but a surface world with it as well. Aquaman is forced to join forces with his brother, but first, he needs to get him out of jail.
Where to watch Aquaman movies?
All DCEU movies can be watched on Max, as the streaming service is notable for being home of the DCEU, and all related content can be found there as well. ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is still in cinemas, but once it finishes its theatric run it’s inevitably going to come to Max as well.
Will there be more movies featuring Aquaman?
Aquaman won’t be featured in more DCEU movies because DCEU is done and over; it’s being rebooted into DCU with Gunn in charge, and Momoa himself said that it’s over for Aquaman, still he also gave hints that he might appear as Lobo in the new cinematic universe. In any case, as far as live-action movies go, Aquaman likely won’t be touched for at least several years, in the future, who knows? We will update you as soon as we have more info.
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