Black Manta Confirmed to Be Returning for Aquaman Sequel

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the future of DC Comics' movie universe, especially as Warner Bros. Pictures has found success in films like Shazam! and Joker. But the future of Aquaman is still in question, as there's still no word on plans for the inevitable sequel after Jason Momoa's star turn made over $1 billion at the box office. Now one of the stars of the first film is opening up about the plans for Aquaman 2, which will once again focus on the underwater exploits of the new King of Atlantis — and he'll be taking on a familiar threat.

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is currently starring in HBO's sequel series to Watchmen, but he was asked about his possible return as Black Manta for Aquaman 2.

"Aquaman 2 is happening! It is happening, and we can look for that, I believe, in 2022," Abdul-Mateen said during an interview with Uproxx. "So I'm excited to be part of that. Black Manta will be back, and hopefully, he'll be causing a lot more trouble than he did in the first one."

Momoa also recently teased plans for Aquaman 2, with a new profile from Esquire revealing that he's able to bring his own ideas to the project now.

"I came in with a big pitch," Momoa explained. "I came in with the whole thing mapped out, and they loved it."

Momoa previously appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and explained why making the Aquaman sequel was so important to him.

"I was really, really, really, passionate, to do the second one because it's the first time where it's all on Earth. It's combining land and sea, kind of like what I'm doing with this [environmental cause]. There's no outside aliens destroying Earth, it's us. And so I was excited to get back in there, and so I've been working with our previous writer, and getting in there, and we've got a locked story, and we're getting into it."

Aquaman 2 will premiere on December 16, 2022.

Other DC projects include Joker, now playing in theaters, as well as the upcoming films Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, and The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021.