James Wan Reveals Cryptic First “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” Set Photo
If you’re going to reveal that you’ve started shooting Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, what better way to do it than by sharing a cryptic photo that leaves fans speculating? That’s what director James Wan has done via his Instagram account, sharing a photo of a frozen landscape and a movie slate with the title “Necrus” on it. But what does “Necrus” mean?
For those not fully versed in DC Comics, the simple answer is that Necrus is another domed underwater city, much like Atlantis. Yet unlike Atlantis, which was a proper kingdom for a long time, Necrus has an “unstable status in the ocean,” meaning that it doesn’t have a set position but rather appears here or there depending upon the movements of an alien satellite. So yeah, Necrus is weird—even weirder than Atlantis—and weird is something James Wan is great at deploying to his film’s benefit.
Or, another way of looking at Necrus is that it functioned as a kind of anti-Atlantis, one ruled by a madman (more on him later) and that has no intention of living peacefully with their surface-dwelling Earthling neighbors. In the first Aquaman, we saw Atlantis, led by King Orm (Patrick Wilson), taking on an aggressive stance against the folks living on dry land (you and me), and it took the chutzpah of Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and his allies Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (Willem Dafoe) to defeat Orm and put Atlantis back on a peaceful footing.
If you believe that Wan is using “Necrus” as the production title for a reason, then it seems reasonable to imagine it will appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. If it does appear, then might its tyrannical leader, Mongo, pose an even greater threat to the fragile peace forged at the end of Aquaman? Wouldn’t Game of Thrones alum and new Aquaman cast member Pilou Asbæk make a great Mongo? Might Necrus factor into Orm’s plans (his life spared by Arthur and he was imprisoned at the end of the first film) and help him stage a vicious comeback? Or, is Wan having some fun with us, and presenting an Easter Egg that leads us on a hunt that goes into the icy abyss and really means nothing?
Time will tell—and quite a bit of time—Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn’t due in theaters until December 16, 2022. Check out Wan’s post below:
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Featured image: Caption: (L-r) AMBER HEARD, director JAMES WAN, JASON MOMOA and WILLEM DAFOE on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “AQUAMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/ ™ & © DC Comics. Copyright: © 2018 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.
