After a weekend of cancellation rumours, Warner Discovery releases a teaser trailer for ‘Aquaman 2’

A teaser trailer for the next ‘big’ DCEU film, ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ has finally been released overnight, prompting a change in tact regarding rumours about the film’s future. Though only 30 seconds in length, the teaser promises a full-length movie trailer for the beleaguered film this Thursday (14 September 2023).

The movie, starring Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson, has long had a history of issues, from the lack of success of other DC titles this year to reshoots and the question of how much time Amber Heard, as Mera, has in this film after her very public court battle with Johnny Depp. 

But over the weekend, gossip was rife as to the future of the film and if it would even be released; Warner Discovery and their head, David Zaslav, are no strangers to yanking the red carpet from underneath the feat of filmmakers, cast members and audiences.

The almost ‘bad faith’ that the film has even before screeners have been submitted to film reviewers has naturally left a bad taste in the mouths of the cinema-going public and given there have been talks of ‘Superhero Fatigue’ given how poorly some of them have performed this year, could Warner Discovery look to save some money, including any residuals owed for streaming rights, by calling it off?

Movies such as ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ normally have a long lead time of teaser trailers and promotion, but there has been a distinct lack of it this time around - so far anyway - so is that another sign that film executives are not too hopeful about the returns for the film?

Take a look at the teaser trailer and let us know if this inspires you with a little more confidence, or if they should have left the sequel to Aquaman at the bottom of the briny deep.

Why were there rumours ‘Aquaman 2’ was cancelled this weekend?

There was discussion as to why there had been no promotional campaign for ‘Aquaman 2’ given how big of a title it is for Warner Discovery in terms of financials. That led to one source on Reddit stating that the studio was planning on cancelling the film ahead of its release (akin to ‘Batgirl’) as the feeling is that the film would make a loss.

However, there was another comment about the film on Reddit’s r/entertainment sub, with quotes from a GeekRant article that although the film will be released, there is a hesitance to put money into marketing and promotion for the film given the lack of success for ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and ‘The Flash,’ despite the latter receiving strong early reviews.

What is the release date for ‘Aquaman 2’?

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ currently has a release date of December 25 in the US and December 29 in the UK.