Are you ready to return to Atlantis? Aquaman may have only recently landed on Blu-ray and Digital HD, but the blockbuster superhero origin featuring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard has already been greenlit for a sequel slated for release on December 16, 2022. Yes, that’s nearly four years away, which may sound like a long time to fans eager to see Arthur Curry on the big screen once more, but the creative team behind Aquaman are already gearing up to return to the underwater world of Atlantis.

Aquaman producer Peter Safran will be returning for the sequel along with James Wan and writer David Leslie Johnson, and we caught up with him to discuss the much anticipated follow-up at the recent grand opening of DC Universe: The Exhibit's new Aquaman presentation at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. With the 2020 release date announced, he along with the rest of the creative team are currently in planning mode for the sequel.

"We're really figuring out now what the story wants to be," Safran says. "We have a pretty good sense of where we want it to go. But there are a lot of avenues we can go down because we created such a fully-fledged world in the first movie. We have a lot of options and opportunities."

According to Safran, he's working with Wan, Momoa, Johnson and DC to figure out "the best path" for the sequel's story now that Arthur has ascended the throne in Atlantis and earned the control over the seven seas, finally bringing to life his comic book destiny. And Safran promises that now that Arthur is officially king, "it's going to be exciting, it's going to be great."

"We feel like we've got a fair bit of pressure on us because the audience loved the first movie so much," Safran adds. "And we want to make sure we don't disappoint them in the second."

But luckily, an unintended advantage for the sequel has already proven to be quite useful for the Aquaman producers as they begin to plot out production on the sequel.

"We did an enormous amount of R&D in the first movie, in terms of costumes, wardrobe environments, visual effects, creating the assets of the visual effects—all of that took so much time," Safran acknowledges. "We've done that now. So, we're bringing all of that knowledge base to the second movie and I think it's going to make it a much smoother process and just give us a lot more freedom because we already know what your weather restrictions are and also what the workarounds are."

While Safran is, of course, a professional, he’s also a real fan of the character and the first film, and he can hardly contain his glee when it comes to making the sequel. Part of that means already knowing what he wants (and needs) to include in the second film.

"Oh, I'm going to have my way," he says with a laugh. "I'm definitely going to have my way!"

But for now, he's remaining cagey on revealing any of his personal wishes for the sequel.

"I think that because we all see the same movie,” Safran says of where the second movie will go. “I think we are all pulling in the same direction. I know what James and Jason and myself all want to see happen and that's what's going to happen. That's what the story is going to be. We all have a voice in it."

He pauses, then adds, "And Jason's authenticity as that character is the one thing you want to make sure you never lose. That's what he's bringing to the table for the next one as well and it's incredibly exciting."
 

Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard and Patrick Wilson, is now available on Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.

Sydney Bucksbaum covers movies, TV and comics for DCComics.com, and writes about Superman every month in her column, "Super Here For..." Follow her on Twitter at @SydneyBucksbaum.