Nearly five years after Aquaman premiered, its sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is approaching its release on the big screen. After several delays, the sequel is finally starting to feel more real now that Warner Bros. has released an official trailer. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom follows Aquaman (Jason Momoa) as he forms an unlikely alliance with his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to save his family and his Kingdom from Black Manta’s (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) vengeance.
The film is highly anticipated, considering Aquaman is DC Studios’ highest-grossing film to date. Additionally, the movie has the added honor of closing out the old DC Universe regiment. The DCU as we know it is concluding as co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran take the universe in an entirely new direction. The actors who gave the DCU its start—think Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill—are departing the universe, while the fate of others, like Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Zachary Levi, remain unknown. After Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom premieres, it will usher in the first part of Gunn’s and Safran’s ten-year plan for the DCU with Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will mark the long-awaited sequel to a successful DCU film and the end of an era. For those looking to make plans for the upcoming movie, here’s where audiences can catch it upon its release.
When and where to watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Viewers can first expect to watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in theaters upon its premiere. The film is slated to release in theaters on December 20, 2023, and, like most DCU films, will enjoy an exclusive theatrical release and run. This means Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom won’t be immediately available to stream. However, its streaming release might not be too far behind its theatrical debut.
This is because all of Warner Bros.’ theatrical releases eventually make their way to the company’s streaming platform, Max. Usually, theatrical releases take at least 45 days to make it to the streamer, though this isn’t a set number, and some more significant films will take much longer than 45 to arrive. However, if Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom follows the pattern of Warner Bros.’ latest DCU films, it will likely arrive on streaming sooner rather than later. Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrived on Max just 46 days into its theatrical run, while The Flash took about 70 days to get to Max.
So the good news is that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could potentially arrive on Max as early as February 2024. Of course, if it’s a box office hit, unlike The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, it might enjoy a longer exclusive theatrical run. However, Warner Bros. has been speedy with its streaming releases lately, so enjoying the Aquaman sequel from one’s home will likely be an option sometime in early 2024. Additionally, Warner Bros. theatrical films’ arrival on Max usually coincides with the films’ releases for digital download, Blu-ray, and DVD, so fans will have several options for watching the movie at home.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
