DCEU Producer Hints that 'The Trench' Could Come Before 'Aquaman 2'

Though an Aquaman sequel has been pushed into development at Warner Brothers, one Aquaman producer thinks The Trench will likely come before the much-anticipated sequel.

Speaking with THR, producer Peter Safran revealed the horror-based spinoff will take place sometime after the events of the first Aquaman film.

"We always, even from the early concept art days, loved the idea of a Trench movie," the producer said. "Then, when audiences embraced it in the movie itself the way they did, particularly that ant farm shot where the camera follows the Trench [creatures] following Arthur and Mera down into the deep, we just knew that we had something very special there and we knew what that movie should be. And consequently, I suspect that that's one that will come out significantly before Aquaman 2."

Confirming Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) or Mera (Amber Heard) would not appear in the spinoff, Safran says the team at Warner Brothers — led by director James Wan — is drawing inspiration from The Conjuring franchise.

"We've definitely taken a page from our Conjuring playbook, which is: you've got the mothership, which is Aquaman," explained Safran. "But there are so many great stories to tell within that universe of itself, that Atlantean universe."

Both Safran and Wan are heavily invested in the horror franchise, with both of them receiving producer credits on every film. After directing the first two Conjuring flicks, Wan has switched over to help develop the story of each subsequent movie.

Before long The Conjuring franchise will be made up of eight movies and after an astonishing box office run for Aquaman, it's likely the brand could carry a mini-universe in and of itself. Worldwide, Aquaman hauled in a whopping $1.14 billion, including an incredible $808.2 (71%) internationally.

Though far from confirmed, Warner Brothers shifted around release dates earlier this week, opening up a date on Christmas Day next year — a prime spot for a superhero flick.

Aquaman is now available digitally and will be available for home media release on March 26th.

Are you looking forward to The Trench? What do you think will happen in Aquaman 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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