Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to Reportedly Keep Release Date Amid Ongoing Strikes

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is reportedly still coming out this holiday season. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Pictures announced plans to delay several of its upcoming films amid the ongoing Hollywood strikes, with Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim all pushed back. According to reporting on these new changes, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is expected to keep its current December 20th release date. It had been recently rumored that the Aquaman sequel would be among the Warner Bros. projects delayed, in part because the actors' strike prevents cast members from promoting the film, but we know (for now) that that won't be the case. Additionally, fellow Warner Bros. releases Wonka and The Color Purple are reportedly also sticking to their December 2023 release dates.

"Well, Aquaman – even the first film – has always been a very standalone film," director James Wan told ComicBook.com earlier this year. "That was always our approach: that it kind of lives in its own world, and that's kind of how we've approached The Lost Kingdom as well. You know, people love Jason Momoa; people love him playing this role; and people love the action visuals of this space and this world. And that's what we're doing: we're taking it to the next level and we are still expanding – and just any fans of Aquaman the character, that love Black Manta, this is the next level and I'm very excited to finally put out there to show them what we've been working on all these years."

What Is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom About?

In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, when an ancient power is unleashed, Aquaman must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will see the return of Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Amber Heard as Mera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, and Randall Park as Stephen Shin. Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbaek has also joined the cast in an unknown role, while Jani Zhao will play new character Stingray, Indya Moore will play Karshon, and Vincent Regan will play Atlan, who was previously portrayed by Graham McTavish in Aquaman.

Is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in the DCU?

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last of four DC films to make their debut in 2023, begging the question of whether or not their canon and characters will carry over into James Gunn and Peter Safran's "reset" DC Universe. While nothing has been confirmed yet, Momoa previously said that fans should be excited for The Lost Kingdom regardless.

"I absolutely think Aquaman will be involved in the DCU," Momoa revealed. "It's on, bro – there's no one bigger than Aquaman! But, also, I hope people are excited to see the new one. It's fun. I really enjoy doing comedy. There's some really funny stuff with Patrick Wilson. I really adore him. We had a great time working together. It's like we're brothers. There's a lot of cool stuff happening in this one."

What do you think of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom reportedly keeping its release date? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!