Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to make its long-awaited arrival in theaters this coming December. The sequel is also slated to be the final movie in the DCEU before the start of the franchise's reboot under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
However, considering that we're just months away from its release, it is strange at this point that we have never seen a full preview of the film aside from the behind-the-scenes photos that we've seen for over a year now.
There's also a lot of curiosity about the film's performance since the test screenings have reportedly been disappointing and the recent DCEU releases also flopped at the box office.
Now, as we're anticipating the sequel's release, a new report has revealed what has been happening behind the scenes which signals that the production might have been deeply troubled.
Aquaman 2 Already Underwent Three Reshoots
A recent report from The Hollywood Reporter laid out some details surrounding the recent development on the post-production of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom which revealed that it already underwent three major reshoots and removed the two filmed Batman cameos.
Before the actors' strike commenced last week, the sequel had its third reshoot last month in New Zealand with Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson involved.
While reshoots are common nowadays in tentpole films, the report stressed that it is uncommon to undergo three rounds of additional filming as it would mean that the studio has to spend way more money beyond the budget.
With that said, the brass at Warner Bros. and DC Studios have high faith in the film as they were willing to spend more money on its reshoots, unlike Blue Beetle where they turned down its request for two days of additional filming.
The film's test screening results were also unenthusiastic which prompted the studio and the producers to do more reshoots and an insider claimed that the main concern was "the underlying issue of story clarity."
Fortunately, it sounds like the film is now back on track as the reshoots allegedly went so well that they were only able to complete it within four days instead of the planned five.
Batman Will No Longer Appear in the Sequel
Originally, the film was going to feature a cameo appearance from Michael Keaton's Batman, who recently appeared in The Flash and was planned to be the DCEU's Nick Fury when Walter Hamada was still leading the franchise.
However, when the film's release was moved to a date prior to The Flash, Ben Affleck was tapped to take over the role in order to avoid confusion in terms of continuity.
When the film's release was delayed again to later this year which is now months after The Flash, there were questions about which Batman will they use now during the scene. Now, the report has confirmed that the character no longer makes an appearance in the latest cut.
The decision to remove the Caped Crusader was made by Gunn and Safran as they "do not want to promise a movie universe that will not come to fruition nor tie it down excessively to past failures."
While this recent update is either encouraging or disappointing news, the question still comes down to its box office performance once it is released this December.
As shown by the recent DCEU releases, the franchise is very vulnerable right now at the box office as it is undergoing its transition to the reboot and there is uncertainty regarding the Momoa character's future in the DCU.
However, the first film did end up becoming a billion-dollar grosser so perhaps that could indicate that the audience will actually flock to this particular movie. Let's just wait and see for now whether the sequel will be able to perform solidly enough and hit the breakeven or it'll be another DCEU flop.
Also Read: Petition Calling for Amber Heard's Aquaman 2 Removal Already Feels Pointless
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is slated for release in theaters this December 20. You can check more details about it here.
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