Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom rumored to be abandoned by Warner Bros. with no full trailers just three months before its theatrical release
With just over three months to go before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters on December 20, the lack of any form of marketing has fueled rumors that Warner Bros. effectively stops the film.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a sequel to Warner Bros.’ The 2018 smash hit Aquaman, which grossed $335 million domestically and $1.14 billion worldwide.
Jason Momoa returns as the title character, as does controversial actress Amber Heard as Mera.
In July, there were rumors that WB might push Dune Part Two, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Color Purple to 2024, due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, with both unions banning their members from promoting their work from affected companies during the activities. discontinuation.
While the studio ultimately pushed Dune Part Two from its November 3, 2023 release to March 15, 2024, it did not push The Color Purple or Aquaman 2, with Twitter user @TheComixKid there was speculation this weekend that WB doesn’t have a marketing budget for the superhero sequel.
Dropping Out: With just over three months to go before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters on December 20, the lack of any kind of marketing has fueled rumors that Warner Bros. effectively stops the film.
First film: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a sequel to Warner Bros.’ 2018’s smash hit Aquaman, which grossed $335 million domestically and $1.14 billion worldwide
Rumors: There were rumors in July that WB could push Dune Part Two, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Color Purple to 2024, due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, with both unions banning their members from promoting their work from affected companies during the work stoppage
@TheComixKid retweeted another Twitter user @WhenBatmenFly, who said, “Aquaman 2 comes out in three months and there’s still no trailer. Why isn’t anyone panicking?’
@TheComixKid replied: ‘Because they know it’s bad, they know it’ll lose money, and they don’t put any marketing budget behind it at all.’
It’s unclear if @TheComixKid is just putting forward his own speculative ideas or if he’s citing industry sources about the film’s marketing budget, or apparent lack thereof.
Another Twitter user, @NebsGoodTakes, shared the short 30 seconds of footage that has been released so far, although there is still no publicly released trailer.
Those 30 seconds of footage were part of a teaser for Warner Bros.’ The then-current list of 2022 DC Comics films as of February 2022, when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was scheduled for December 16, 2022 at the time.
While it is still possible that Warner Bros. Aquaman and he Lost Kingdom could be moved to 2024 as previously rumored – which would certainly explain the lack of marketing thus far – the studio still hasn’t done so.
If the studio is indeed planning to release Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20, the lack of marketing is quite surprising considering that 30-second clip is the only footage released so far.
The studio presented a full trailer for CinemaCon 2023 attendees during the Warner Bros. panel in April, although that trailer has yet to be released publicly.
Money loser: @TheComixKid replied: ‘Because they know it’s bad, they know it’ll lose money, and they don’t put any marketing budget behind it at all’
Footage only: Another Twitter user, @NebsGoodTakes, shared the short 30 seconds of footage released so far, although there is still no publicly released trailer
Speculation: It’s unclear if @TheComixKid is just pushing his own speculative ideas or if he’s citing industry sources about the film’s marketing budget, or apparent lack thereof
Release shift: While it is still possible that Warner Bros. Aquaman and he could move Lost Kingdom to 2024 as previously rumored – which would certainly explain the lack of marketing thus far – the studio still hasn’t done so
Warner Bros. promoted the original Aquaman at CinemaCon 2017, before filming had even begun, with a concept art sizzle reel.
Filming began in May 2017, with director James Wan presenting the first footage at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017, while filming was still underway.
The first official trailer wouldn’t debut until next year’s San Diego Comic-Con in July 2018, five months before it hit theaters.
With just over three months until Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters, the lack of real marketing has proven troublesome for many fans, it seems.
It’s also worth noting that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last film in the previous DC Studios regime led by Walter Hamada, with the first film under new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran – Superman: Legacy featuring in the starring David Corenswet as the new man of Steel – will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.