Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom

[Andrew NDB]

I saw Aquaman 2. Damn. That was not a good movie, by any stretch of the imagination. This was a brain-dead script with back-to-back contrivances and cardboard characters. Black Manta's arc is that he was possessed for the whole movie, basically? With his big black submarine where a captain pilots it with a big wheel (huh?) and he has his big throne. It's all just really dumb and surface level nothing. We want to melt all the polar icecaps to do what, exactly? I also don't think the rumors about an earlier version of the movie having Aquaman's baby getting killed were true now. The movie just isn't built to have that make any sense or carry any weight. Unless it was like, Black Manta originally killed him at the lighthouse and, like, took some blood with him and then they did reshoots with Randall Park and the baby in the ice kingdom, but even then it wouldn't "boost" anything beyond making Aquaman much more enraged in going after Black Manta, which they didn't do.

I can definitely see where they potentially trimmed Mera's material but I don't think they were too drastic. Like, it would have been a couple lines here, a couple lines there, and she was definitely more in the opening that they definitely reedited to be a narrated montage. I don't think what they cut would have helped much.

Originally Posted by IMJ

I think the lack of interest is a little related to Amber Hurd and largely related to the impending reboot of the entire DCU. Seems like audiences now need the connectivity instead of being able to take a movie on it's own merits.

Which is why Captain Marvel 1 was such a success. Marvel and the lefties took note and went, "Ahh, nice! The female audience we've been hoping for has materialized at last!" (which probably opened the gates for a lot of Marvel's recent flops) when that was never the case. It was largely just people wanting to see clues to what might be in the next Avengers movie, or just to be introduced to a character who might have a key role in Endgame.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Which is why Captain Marvel 1 was such a success. Marvel and the lefties took note and went, "Ahh, nice! The female audience we've been hoping for has materialized at last!" (which probably opened the gates for a lot of Marvel's recent flops) when that was never the case. It was largely just people wanting to see clues to what might be in the next Avengers movie, or just to be introduced to a character who might have a key role in Endgame.

Exactly, people forget not only were people hoping fir End Game clues, Infinity War literally ended with Fury dropping a device that had her symbol on it. Of course people were going to see the movie.

[Andrew NDB]

I think with Wonder Woman, there WAS a good degree of "Wow, yes! Let's get a good, strong woman-led superhero movie and support this!" But also, Gal Gadot is not Brie Larson. Gal Gadot is a smiling, beautiful and powerful woman who loves her fans and you can see she is having fun with everything and super appreciated she's able to do what she does. Brie Larson is the polar opposite of all of those things and everyone knows it (mostly because she can't stop telling us). But yeah, lucky Brie Larson. If Blue Beetle was part of the MCU and that movie was between Infinity War and Endgame and Nick Fury was, like, dropping a blue scarab at the end of Infinity War... you can bet your ass Blue Beetle would have been a billion+ dollar movie. And then Marvel would have been dredging the barrels to find or race swap Hispanic characters for future stuff.

[neatoman]

Does this mean the DCEU really does end with Orm eating a cockroach burger?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Does this mean the DCEU really does end with Orm eating a cockroach burger?

Yes. Though... I wouldn't be surprised if Jason Momoa shows up as a somewhat different Aquaman in the Gunn-verse. Maybe with short hair. And no solo movies. And at the very least we know everyone in Peacemaker season 1 is still in, somehow, which means Suicide Squad 1 and 2 are somehow still in the mix. If Aquaman 2 had done crazy money there might be entirely different conversations happening behind the scenes but as is, there just really isn't any good reason for keeping THIS Aquaman around.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Which is why Captain Marvel 1 was such a success. Marvel and the lefties took note and went, "Ahh, nice! The female audience we've been hoping for has materialized at last!" (which probably opened the gates for a lot of Marvel's recent flops) when that was never the case. It was largely just people wanting to see clues to what might be in the next Avengers movie, or just to be introduced to a character who might have a key role in Endgame.

Exactly true. And they still don't want to admit it - if there is any degree for argument, even if it is only 1 degree past "obvious" they will argue for their agenda. Because they are the life-angry. So they feel any assault in their favor is some kind of victory against the normalcy they despise.

Nobody wanted Captain Marvel from the get-go. Carol Danvers hasn't even remotely been a solid character even in the books past 2010 when she had a series that lasted even 50 issues (an absolute record for the character in-print).

I think people were anticipating Wonder Woman though and the first movie was very solid. Not as great as memory would have us serve though - I just think it was a valid movie on it's own merits and because it didn't jump on the "woke $#!(" bandwagon it seemed like a greater movie than it was. But it's a solid flick.

[Andrew NDB]

You know, wouldn't it be neat if we could at least just see the Keaton and Affleck material? We know the show is over. Just give it to us. You paid a lot of money for it. At least let it be seen. And it's probably very small anyway.

[Sumac]

I don't see how or why they do it.
Especially "why": those are pieces of the "old" universe, they are no longer relevant and might confuse people. WB doesn't need another "release Snyder cut" right now (or ever). So its better to keep their cards close to their chest, so to speak.

[Andrew NDB]

I guess like, just release it online. With whatever verbiage context they want to add simultaneously. Because who cares now.

[sdp]

I mean audiences are already going to be confused since The Suicide Squad is going to be in continuity with the new DCU as well as the old one so it doesn't matter. Too bad the days of DVD deleted scenes craze of the 2000s is gone since it'd be great to see all the different cut scenes from ALL their DCEU movies. I'm pretty sure most have had heavy rewrites and filmed more stuff later on. I'm sure those will eventually come out but not likely in 10 years or so, when it's seen as a "past" mistake and won't hurt the company to admit the mistake anymore.

[IMJ]

If the could somehow just crap out one more Snyderverse flick it should be the Affleck bat-flick.

[ZariusTwo]

In something of a positive for the movie and for DC's fortunes, Lost Kingdom has officially passed $400 million globally at the box office, making it the most profitable DC film since the original Aquaman in 2018

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/dc...universe-2018/

[sdp]

I watched both Aquaman movies, I left them towards the end because I really wasn't looking forward to them:

1: surprised me by how entertaining it was. Jason Momoa is a good gritty Aquaman but a bad lighter one, he doesn't fit the character well. Black mantha was great. I loved the power rangers looking storm trooper putties, I loved the scenery, the colors, everything felt fresh, the two villain set up was handled well. Super impressed.

2: starts of a bit boring, but it's not that bad, the newness is just not there anymore and the story is not as good. Not ri mention they have less if the trippy neon visuals that made the original fun. but there's some good scenes, especially with Black mantha and Ocean Master been if it's a retread.

We need a blonde short haired Aquaman for the DCU that can keep the mood lighter. It's a shame Momoa's Aquaman never lost a hand, it would've been shocking and fit his grittier Aquaman very well.

[Andrew NDB]

I think what Aquaman 2 proved was that everything we thought worked great in Aquaman 1 was either a happy accident, super forced and manufactured, or just some kind of a fluke. Nobody made it out of that 2nd movie looking good, or without damage. And they waited way too long between sequels and everything gained with Mera in part 1 was totally abandoned. The "emotional tether" was broken.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I think what Aquaman 2 proved was that everything we thought worked great in Aquaman 1 was either a happy accident, super forced and manufactured, or just some kind of a fluke. Nobody made it out of that 2nd movie looking good, or without damage. And they waited way too long between sequels and everything gained with Mera in part 1 was totally abandoned. The "emotional tether" was broken.

The first one had the benefit of being "something new" in the superhero space. And of course DC got it out before Marvel put NAH-more! on film, so Aquaman had the inertia.

Also the first one I think came out while Amber Heard was still eyecandy in a push-up swimsuit before she was a crazy bed-$#!((er, so there was that.