Jason Momoa returns as Arthur Curry, now the king of Atlantis, and he faces the challenge of protecting his kingdom and family from the wrath of Black Manta. While the first Aquaman movie remains the top grosser in DCEU, Aquaman 2 is plagued with issues that could impact its box office success.

James Wan Radically Changed This DC Villain

Karshon in DC comics

In Aquaman 2, Black Manta, portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, was initially reported as the main villain seeking revenge against Jason Momoa‘s Arthur Curry. However, director James Wan revealed that Aquaman 2 will feature two other bad guys — Stingray and Karshon. Fans may confuse Stingray with the Marvel comics character, but according to Wan, Stingray is a character specifically created for Aquaman 2.

However, it was Karshon that caught the attention of the comic book fans. Karshon, also known as Shark, is a super-humanoid villain who evolved from a tiger shark due to a radioactive explosion. The ruthless predator played villain to other Justice League characters like Green Lantern and The Flash in the comics. Jani Zhao and Indya Moore are roped into the movie to play Stingray and Karshon respectively.

However, Wan is not going to make the film easily likable to the DC fans. The Furious 7 director made the creative decision to turn the cool shark villain into a non-shark character and pit him against Arthur Curry as a political enemy. James Wan explained this decision to Empire magazine (via The Direct):

“This Karshon is not a shark character. It’s different [from] the comic books in that sense. One of the things we wanted to do, now that Arthur is king of Atlantis, is to give him barriers within the political world. Karshon comes from the High Council and is like a political roadblock for Arthur.”

However, some DC fans welcomed the move, suggesting that Wan’s creative decision would allow for a distinction between The Suicide Squad’s King Shark and Karshon.

James Wan Teased The Premise Of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

James Wan with Amber Heard and Jason Momoa on Aquaman set

James Wan also provided hints about the premise of the sequel. Black Manta is seen with the Black Trident in the movie trailer, granting him god-like powers. However, Wan also shared that Black Manta “stumbles” upon a mysterious location probably referring to the ‘Lost Kingdom’. Wan told Empire, “In his quest to find ways to destroy Arthur, Black Manta stumbles onto something.”

In the comics, Atlantis once existed on land and sank to the bottom of the sea, splitting into seven kingdoms. The six kingdoms depicted in Aquaman included Atlantis, Xebel, the Fishermen Kingdom, the Brine Kingdom, the Trench Kingdom, and the collapsed Deserters Kingdom. While fans got to know of these six kingdoms, there’s an unknown seventh one that is believed to have collapsed or hidden, potentially forming the movie’s premise.

James Wan is expected to bring his elements of horror into the film. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will open in theaters on December 22, 2023.