The DCEU has had many ups and downs since launching in 2013 with Man of Steel, but Aquaman is definitely one of the high points.

While critics were somewhat divided on, the underwater blockbuster was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2018, becoming the first entry in the franchise to cross the coveted $1 billion mark at the box office. With that in mind, Warner Bros. will be hoping upcoming sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom makes just as much of a splash when it lands later this year.

But how can DC fans expect to watch the sequel when it eventually releases this December? Across 2021, WB simultaneously dropped its major movies on HBO Max alongside their theatrical debuts. This isn’t something the studio has carried over into 2022, though, so Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will not be streaming on HBO Max straight away. Instead, it will go exclusively to the silver screen on December 16 — four years after the premiere of the first film.

The good news for subscribers to the streaming service, is that Jason Momoa’s return as Arthur Curry won’t take all that long to make its way to the platform. It’s already been confirmed that Aquaman 2 will become available on HBO Max 45 days after its theatrical opening, so DC fans will most likely be able to view the film from the comfort of their own homes by January 30, 2023.

Not much has been revealed in terms of plot about The Lost Kingdom, but we know that it follows Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry as he gets to grips with becoming the new King of Atlantis. Amber Heard returns as his love interest, Atlantean princess Mera, alongside Patrick Wilson as his rival half-brother, Prince Orm, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is also back as Aquaman’s nemesis Black Manta.

The Book of Boba Fett‘s Temuera Morrison additionally reprises his role as Arthur’s father, Thomas Curry, along with fellow returnees Nicole Kidman as his mother, Queen Atlanna. Dolph Lundgren, Willem Dafoe, and Randall Park.

James Wan is once again in the director’s chair, with screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick providing the script. With the same cast and creative team involved, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom promises to offer fans more of what they enjoyed about the first film. We’ll get to see it — but only in theaters — when it arrives this December.

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