Aquaman 2 is the successor to the very successful Aquaman that released in 2018. It was one of the rare DC movies which was not critically bashed and preformed amazingly at the box office. It was one of the few DC movies to cross the $1 billion at the global box office. A sequel has been in the works for a long time but has been a victim of delays. Aquaman is one of the few DC characters whose future remains as a mystery in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU. It all depends upon the box office performance of the sequel, if it is good Momoa will continue as Aquaman in the DCU, if not then he is all set to appear as Lobo. So, it seems like a lot depends upon the sequel. That is enough pressure already but what if I say that the sequel is getting consistently bad reviews in test screenings? Pressure skyrockets, right?
Aquaman 2 Test Screening Reviews Says It Is Boring!
DC movies are not having a good time at Test Screenings, as Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam had a tough time in with test audiences which led to several changes being made in the movie through reshoots which ate up more budget. As the film tapped out early at the box office because of poor reviews the last minute increase in the budget made it a financial failure. The upcoming DC movies like Blue Beetle and The Flash have received extraordinary reviews in test screenings but sadly the same cannot be said for Aquaman 2.
Industry insider ViewerAnon described the film’s test screening reception as, “I’ll be honest, we’re half a dozen test screenings in and it’s not looking great. I’ve consistently heard over the last half year or so that it’s boring, not as good as the first, and potentially one of the worst DCEU movies.” Big Screen Leaks seconded ViewerAnon’s claims, he added, “It brings me no joy to back him up and tell you that test screenings for this film have not been good. Really hoping Wan fixes this movie before December.”
BSL then teased something terrible that happened with this movie that generally never happens with test screenings indicating how bad it is. What happened exactly, he didn’t specify that. “This is one of the bad things about being a scooper: I don’t want to shit on movies but at a certain point, when people know there have been a lot of test screenings our silence becomes pretty telling. I like Wan, I know he’s had a rough time on this one, I hope it works out.”
The entertainment scooper did clarify that the poor test screening reception is not because of Amber Heard’s involvement. In fact she is barely in the film and the poor reception is simply because the audience is finding it boring. Reputed insider Jeff Sneider described the sequel’s test screening as “terrible”. Given the intolerance people already have against Superhero films, a film like this is destined to become a box office failure if big changes are not implemented. The film is already the fifth most expensive DC film. It has to earn decent at the box office to break even.
- Justice League: $300 million
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: $263 million
- The Dark Knight Rises: $230 million
- Man of Steel: $225 million
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: $205 million (reshoots might increase the budget)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stars Jason Momoa in the lead role of Aquaman and Patrick Wilson as Orm respectively. The other cast includes Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman and Randall Park who reprise their roles from the first film as Mera, Nuidis Vulko, King Nereus, Black Manta, Thomas Curry, Atlanna and Dr. Stephen Shin, respectively. The sequel will introduce some new faces in the form of Vincent Regan as Atlan, Jani Zhao as Stingray, Indya Moore as Karshon and Pilou Asbæk as an undisclosed character.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is slated to release on 25th December 2023.
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