Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: James Wan confirms production underway, teases Necrus

The next film up in the DC Extended Universe pipeline is underway as Aquaman and the Last Kingdom becomes Warner Bros.' latest superhero movie to begin production, following in the footsteps of The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. 

Director James Wan (The Conjuring) announced the news with a post on his Instagram account on Monday. The image — captioned "Day One. #aquaman2" — depicts an icy cave with a film slate that states that the production title is "Necrus." 

An obscure reference that first appeared in the D.C. comics in 1966, Necrus is the name of an underwater city. However, unlike Atlantis, it is quite unstable as it only appears in the physical realm for brief periods of time. And even when it is visible, it has no fixed location. Also known as the "Black City," its militaristic society is ruled by a tyrant named Mongo, who once went to war with Atlantis for its acceptance of surface dwellers. 

And while nothing is confirmed, this does line up with the plot of the previous movie, which saw Arthur Curry's half-brother, King Orm (The Conjuring's Patrick Wilson) attempt to unite the Seven Kingdoms that were formed due to the fall of the Atlantean Empire, so they could attack the surface world. However, in the process, it's revealed that one of the kingdoms has disappeared completely and is now only known as the "Lost Kingdom."

The title of the sequel, combined with the nod featured on the slate, makes it highly likely that Necrus could either be the titular kingdom or form the basis for it. (There's also the potential of a villain team-up between Mongo and Orm, who will no doubt be looking to get his throne and kingdom back after losing it to Arthur.) 

The upcoming sequel sees Jason Momoa reprise his role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman — along with his participation in writing the film's story treatment. He will be joined by Amber Herd's Mera, Wilson's Orm, and Game of Thrones' Pilou Asbaek, whose character remains unknown, though presumably there's a good chance it could be Mongo! 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be released Dec 16, 2022.