AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023): Warner Bros. Pumps Money into Re-shoots to Save Upcoming Film in the DC Universe

Warner Bros. Tries to Save Face with Upcoming DC Film

Warner Bros. has done numerous re-shoots on the forthcoming DC sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and has spent money hoping the film will be a success.

It’s been a game of the Hollywood shuffle when considering the release dates that past DC films have held. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom should finally arrive in theaters this December (after a couple of false alarm release dates). Its slated March 17th date earlier this year was taken over by the box-office bomb Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Boy, does DC need a hit movie!

There have been extensive re-shoots which were done on the upcoming Aquaman movie which could make some moviegoers slightly skeptical. It has been said test audiences weren’t the happiest of campers but DC head James Gunn (among others) is overseeing the film’s development to help ensure it doesn’t land with a thud at the box-office.

Filmmaker James Wan’s upcoming sequel to his 2018 hit, Aquaman, had recently seen a bout of re-shoots done with stars Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson. That makes a total of three separate instances of reported re-shoots on this highly anticipated movie. There’s surprisingly not too much talk of Amber Heard’s reduced role in the film which is probably for the better given all her off-screen difficulties.

Another issue was that Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman appearance could have vanished from the film altogether following the crash landing of the recent Warner Bros. movie The Flash at the domestic box-office. It was once a possibility that Michael Keaton’s Batman could have appeared in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as well but that’s a no-go right now as well.

The problem is those pesky test screenings. One set of screenings did worse than another set. So, James Wan and company need to strengthen the quality of the movie. Visual effects locations were a problem during the pandemic which made it hard to work on the film for a while too which was certainly a legitimate concern for the filmmakers as well.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could help seal the fate of future DC movies if it bombs at the box-office so its success is very important for Warner Bros. and DC. While the first Aquaman was just OK (it still made a fortune at the box-office), it will take a minor miracle to make this one better than the original and without quality, audiences simply won’t attend. In fact, some critics were quite happy with the quality of The Flash and we all know how that turned out. Let’s hope those re-shoots with Momoa and Wilson prove to be substantial keys to increasing the film’s test score ratings.

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