Breaking down the ending of ‘Aquaman’
Spoiler alert! We’re breaking down key plot points and the ending of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (in theaters now), so beware if you haven’t seen it.
If you watched the new “Aquaman” sequel and thought, “Wait, that was it?!” … yep, that was it. A decade of DC movies ended with Patrick Wilson eating a roach burger.
With a rebooted cinematic universe on the horizon for 2025, Jason Momoa’s seafaring title superhero has his final swim in “Lost Kingdom,” which finishes up the current DC era that had Marvel-sized ambitions but never found consistent critical and audience love. So, yeah, the movie was a lame duck of sorts – with no cool cameos or teases – but Aquaman still needed to save the world from a bad guy with a light-up magical doodad. That’s commitment to the job, people.
Let’s break down the finale and end-credits scene and speculate about some DC future:
What happens at the end of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’?
Vengeful supervillain Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) gets his hands on the mythical Black Trident and becomes possessed by the spirit of Kordax, the evil ruler of the mythical lost kingdom of Necrus. He and his aqua-zombies are frozen underneath Antartica, and Manta steals Aquaman’s baby to use the kid’s royal Atlantean blood to break the spell, free Kordax and his undead horde, and unleash hell on Earth. With the help of Aquaman’s half-brother Orm (Wilson), our rough-and-tumble hero defeats the resurrected Kordax and Manta falls to his death as Necrus crumbles.
In the aftermath, Aquaman decides to go public with the existence of Atlantis (much like Wakanda is revealed at the end of Marvel’s “Black Panther”) and the hero holds a news conference on Ellis Island, promising to work with global nations to help solve the climate crisis. “I am the king of Atlantis. … I am Aquaman!” he exclaims with a mic drop, a more macho version of Robert Downey Jr.’s “I am Iron Man” moment in “Iron Man.”
Is Amber Heard in the new ‘Aquaman 2’ movie?
After Heard’s and ex-husband Johnny Depp’s recent legal mess, there were media reports she was almost fired from her role as Aquaman’s wife Mera and had scenes cut from the sequel. But she actually has a decent amount of screen time – as much as Nicole Kidman as Aquaman’s mom,
Atlanna.
That said, Mera doesn’t have a ton to do – early on, she hangs around her husband, folds laundry and ends up in the infirmary when Manta burns her badly (she gets better!). But near the finale, Mera gets more involved in the action and saves her baby as Aquaman and Kordax tussle.
Does ‘Aquaman 2’ have a post-credit scene?
Yep! And while it’s amusing, it’s certainly one of the more inconsequential ones in recent memory as it pays off a joke from earlier in the movie, where Aquaman tricks Orm into eating a cockroach and he ends up digging it.
Cut to the end-credits scene: Orm is laying low, since much of Atlantis is still irked at him for his bad-guy period (see: 2018’s “Aquaman”), and he partakes in a burger at an outdoor restaurant. Orm sees a random cockroach walking on his table and puts it on the burger, taking a bite and smiling due to its insect-y tastiness.
Is the cast of ‘Aquaman’ showing up in upcoming DC projects?
For the most part, probably not. New DC honchos James Gunn and Peter Safran aren’t carrying over many of the actors. Gunn has said Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle will return but there’s going to be a new Batman as well as other heroes. 2025’s “Superman: Legacy” will start filling out the lineup, starting with David Corenswet as the latest Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Momoa has the best chance of returning, though likely not as Aquaman. Fans have long dreamed of him playing DC’s cosmic tough guy Lobo – Momoa’s favorite comic-book character and one akin in wildly violent spirit to Marvel’s Deadpool – and the actor himself would be incredibly down for playing him.
“If they ever call me to ask me to play (him) or ask me to audition, I’m there,” Momoa said in a recent Fandango interview.