Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Image May Spoil the DCU Movie's Villain

A new Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom poster just surfaced online, and it may spoil the identity of the upcoming DC Universe epic's main villain.

The poster first appeared on the r/DCEUleaks subreddit. Produced for the CinemaCon industry event, it features a cool-toned Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom logo against a frozen water backdrop. This has led at least one Reddit user to speculate that the poster's icy motif is a clue that the sequel's central antagonist will be Atlan, otherwise known as the Dead King. In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's DC Comics' source material, the Dead King can create and manipulate ice and snow. He is also responsible for sinking Atlantis and clashes with Aquaman after he attacks the undersea kingdom once again centuries later. Atlan is confirmed to appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (portrayed by Vincent Regan), however, DC Studios is yet to confirm the nature or size of his role in the film. As such, talk of Atlan serving as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's main villain should be taken with a grain of salt for now.

Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom poster at CinemaCon
by u/Proof-Watercress-931 in DCEUleaks

Fans have been trying to puzzle out key details about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ever since the production was announced in 2019. Little is known about the movie's plot and characters at this stage, other than that several Aquaman cast members will return for the sequel. This includes Jason Momoa (Arthur Curry/Aquaman), Amber Heard (Mera), Willem Dafoe (Nuidis Vulko), Patrick Wilson (Orm Marius), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (David Kane/Black Manta), Temuera Morrison (Tom Curry) and Nicole Kidman (Atlanna). Aquaman the Lost Kingdom is also rumored to feature cameos by major players from the wider DCU, such as Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman.

Jason Momoa Talks Up Aquaman 2

Not all the buzz surrounding Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been positive, though. Notably, established scooper Jeff Sneider recently claimed that test screenings for the follow-up film "have not been good." Sneider added that "something that almost never happened in test screenings happened with this movie." He also posited that online rumblings linking Momoa to the lead role in DC Studios' rumored Lobo project are connected to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's poor performance with test audiences.

If Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is indeed in trouble, Momoa isn't letting on. The star raved enthusiastically about the sequel in a recent interview, emphasizing its humor in particular. "I hope people are excited to see the new one," he said. "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."

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom glides into cinemas on Dec. 20, 2023.

Source: Reddit