Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) on Netflix
PG-1320232h 4mActionAdventureFantasy
Arthur Curry rules Atlantis and raises a son with Mera. Black Manta wields a cursed trident and wants revenge for his father's death. To find him, Arthur frees his imprisoned half-brother Orm.
- Netflix2.3/5
- IMDb5.6/10121,884 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes34%
Trailer
Plot summary
Arthur Curry has been king of Atlantis for four years and divides his life between the sea and the surface, married to Mera and raising a son, Arthur Jr. The pirate David Kane, known as Black Manta, still blames Arthur for his father's death and hunts Atlantean artifacts with the marine biologist Stephen Shin. In an Antarctic cavern, Manta comes upon the Black Trident, which takes possession of him, and the voice of its maker offers him the means to bring down Arthur and his kingdom. Months afterward, Manta raids an Orichalcum reserve, and Atlantean forces pursue him while Mera is hurt in the fighting. Arthur finds that Orichalcum gives off gases that heat the planet. To learn where Manta hides, Arthur frees his half-brother Orm from prison.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Amber Heard said she had to fight to keep her role as Mera in the sequel, claiming the script was revised to reduce her to a "very pared down version" and that she was unable to renegotiate her option contract, which stipulated she would earn $2 million for the film.
- A petition to have Amber Heard fired from the Aquaman franchise received more than 1.5 million signatures, and by May 2022 it had received more than four million signatures.
- DC Films president Walter Hamada testified in the Depp v. Heard defamation trial that the studio considered recasting Mera due to concerns about Amber Heard's lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa, not the abuse allegations.
- Tatiana Siegel of Variety reported that Amber Heard was "nearly fired" from the sequel after the first film's release due to chemistry concerns, but the plans were abandoned after her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk intervened.
- Amber Heard appeared for around 20 minutes in the film. Two of her scenes, a fight with Black Manta and a love scene with Jason Momoa, were reportedly cut during production.
- Dolph Lundgren said that he and Amber Heard had larger roles in the original cut and script of the film before they were reduced during reshoots.
- For the underwater scenes, the effects crew built new technology and VFX rigs so the actors could shoot more easily, using 100 cameras to capture performances and action that were then applied to 3D versions of the actors.
- For the underwater worlds and creatures, James Wan and his team switched from the first film's blue screen method to Eyeline Studio technology, placing actors in circular booths ringed by 136 cameras.
