Trivia / Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

• Actor Leaves, Character Dies: Willem Dafoe didn't come back, so Nuidis Vulko was Killed Offscreen by way of The Plague.
• Creator Backlash: Dolph Lundgren expressed disappointment at the final product, having found the original script better, and mentioned that a lot of scenes were cut.
• Deleted Role: As detailed below, at various times the film was planned to feature an appearance from either Michael Keaton or Ben Affleck as Batman, only for the character to be dropped once the plans for the reboot of the DC Universe were announced. Even the official prequel comic published by DC conspicuously omitted Batman (as well as Superman and Cyborg, whose actors were similarly confirmed to not be returning under the new regime) from the Justice League team-up featured in the issue.
• The Other Darrin: Graham McTavish played King Atlan in the first film. Due to scheduling conflicts, notably with the second season of House of the Dragon, Vincent Regan replaced him here.
• Troubled Production: As with a number of DC Comics-based films since 2016, this one did not have a smooth go of it production-wise.
  • Originally meant to shoot in Australia in 2020 for a 2022 release date, production was pushed back to 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and filmed in the UK due to the Australian government's extended border closure. The film supposedly did not test well and was being edited during the reboot of the franchise under James Gunn. Because of this, several rounds of reshoots were ordered.
  • Also playing a factor was Amber Heard having to attend a defamation trial brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp in Virginia^note In June 2022, the jury found Heard liable for all of three statements originating from a 2018 op-ed that Depp claimed defamed him when it mentioned that Heard "became a public figure representing domestic abuse and [...] felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out" two years prior, as at that time she had alleged that Depp abused her physically and emotionally throughout their relationship. Meanwhile, Depp was found liable for one of three statements — specifically referencing an incident on May 21st, 2016 — made by his lawyer on his behalf asserting that Heard "spilled a little wine" in Depp's Hollywood penthouse that day and "roughed the place up." The jury concluded that Heard had not proven defamation for the other statements, which much more broadly described her abuse allegations as a "hoax." Depp and Heard both filed appeals that they then withdrew by the end of the year as part of a settlement agreement., which delayed one of the rounds of filming.
  • James Wan was briefly hospitalized during one of the final rounds of reshoots, for undisclosed reasons.
  • Even after the reshoots, the film still tested poorly and then its marketing was hit by the SAG-AFTRA strikes which limited the amount of press the cast could do for months on end. Notably, the film had very muted marketing compared to what Warner Bros. gave to Wonka and The Color Purple, which opened in the same two-week period. The first trailer was released only three months before its global rollout (the first film's first trailer debuted four months before its release, by comparison) and there was not even a red carpet world premiere, in favor of an invitation-only event for "influencers" at an upscale Los Angeles mall, with only James Wan and Jason Momoa in attendance. Even though the film was shot for IMAX theaters, it had to share screen space with the IMAX-optimized Wonka (which got matinees), further cutting into its earning potential. Despite all that though, it still ended up being the only DCEU film to break 400M$ globally (434M to be exact) since… the first Aquaman. Just barely enough to break even considering the inflated budget, but enough to not be viewed as a complete car crash.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Originally, Arthur had scenes with Bruce Wayne. At first, it was the Michael Keaton version, as the film was originally set to be released after The Flash, in which Ben Affleck's Batman was to be replaced with Keaton's version (much like how the Batgirl of Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah was also supposed to feature Keaton's version). When schedule changes resulted in Flash being pushed back until after the release of Lost Kingdom, those scenes were reshot with Affleck's version. Then, the release date changed once again, now placing Flash before the Aquaman sequel, Keaton's scenes were seemingly restored (with Jason Momoa himself remarking that he was unsure which version of Batman would make it into the final cut of the film), only for the announcement of James Gunn's overall reboot of DC Comics properties on film to cause Batman to be cut entirely.
  • Amber Heard claimed that many of her scenes were cut and her role reduced as a result of her defamation lawsuit against Johnny Depp. James Wan denied this and said the movie was always meant to focus on Arthur and Orm's relationship, but after the movie released, Dolph Lundgren confirmed what Heard said was true. He said that his own screen time was reduced because his character is so connected to hers, and even said that they did, in fact, reshape the story.

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