Jason Momoa Teases Bigger and Better Aquaman 2: "The Stakes Are a Lot Higher"

09/25/2021 10:59 pm EDT

Jason Momoa teases an Aquaman movie that's bigger and better — and wetter — in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The sequel, surfacing December 2022 from DC Films and Warner Bros., reunites Momoa with the Aquaman creative team of director James Wan and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. After reeling in the biggest box office of any DC Comics film with Aquaman's global haul of $1.14 billion in 2018, Momoa says Aquaman 2 is "pulling out all of the stops" with stakes that are "a lot higher."

"We all learned something on the first one. It's exciting because I haven't made too many sequels. I just know that it's, even on the page, it's absolutely wonderful," the Dune and Aquaman actor told Fandango. "There is so much going on. I think the stakes are a lot higher. There's a lot of comedy. So, I mean, I giggled reading it. There's a lot of fun, and definitely the action's [bigger]."

Aquaman saw the half-Atlantean, half-human Arthur Curry (Momoa) join forces with undersea Xebellian princess Mera (Amber Heard) to stop his half-brother, Orm the Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson), from waging war on the surface world. After that global adventure taking place on land and in the sea, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom takes the action to "a whole other level" with an evolution of the technology used to depict the underwater kingdom of Atlantis in Aquaman and Justice League. 

"I think just in the last three or four years, technology is constantly [evolving]… it's just moving at such a rapid pace that what we're doing with underwater [sequences], I mean, that's what made the first one so amazing," said Momoa. "It's just gone on to a whole other level, so I'm excited for everyone because it's just a lot more heart. There's a lot more at risk." 

Heard and Wilson reprise their roles opposite Momoa and returning Aquaman stars Dolph Lundgren, who plays Mera's father King Nereus; Randall Park as Atlantis-obsessed marine biologist Dr. Stephen Shin; Temuera Morrison as Arthur's human father; and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as vengeful villain Black Manta. Joining them are three new cast members: Jani Zhao (Sentimentos) as Stingray, Indya Moore (Pose) as Karshon the Shark, and Vincent Regan (300) as Atlan, the ancient ruler of Atlantis.

Momoa's aquatic Justice Leaguer will wear a sleek stealth suit inspired by the comic books as part of a new story co-written by Momoa and Johnson-McGoldrick. 

"After we ended the first one I went in with my writing partner and we dreamed up the second one and we went in and pitched the idea," Momoa said on The Drew Barrymore Show. "The best thing I can give you is that I love it so much that I participated in the writing of it. And so, we did the first treatment and then James and our original writer David finished it off. And all of our hearts are in it. Instead of just, like, getting a script and doing that, you are 100% being encouraged by your director and co-writers. So that's exciting for me and I'm excited to go over there." 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens on December 16, 2022.  

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