Warner Bros. is hoping audiences will take the plunge and check out Aquaman in a couple of weeks, or next weekend at an early preview. With Justice League‘s failure stalling out so many other spinoffs, Aquaman is seen as key to the future of the DCEU. In fact, they’re counting on it, because plans for a sequel are already beginning to surface.
In a THR piece on Aquaman co-star Amber Heard there was this blurb about development on a sequel to the Jason Momoa-led flick…
According to strong early tracking, the film is expected to earn an impressive $65 million in its domestic debut and top Mary Poppins Returns and Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. That number gave Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich enough confidence to begin talks on a sequel (though no writer has been commissioned yet).
While it’s easy to mock Warner Bros. for putting the cart before the horse as they’ve done with so many other canceled projects, this is actually good news. Those who have seen Aquaman have sung its praises, and that fans are being given a chance to see the film a full week early speaks to the confidence the studio has in it. That kind of thing means a lot, because I believe people can tell when a studio has no faith in their film.
So obviously this is super early and nothing will get an official thumbs up until the box office numbers roll in, but this is a positive sign indeed. Aquaman hits theaters on December 21st.
