Warner Bros. Pictures has announced December 16, 2022, as the release date for ‘Aquaman’ sequel, which has been dubbed ‘Aquaman 2.’

The first step toward producing ‘Aquaman 2’ kicked off in the early days of February 2019, according to a report by Variety.

The film narrates the story of an heir, Arthur Curry, to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, who must step forward to lead his people against his half-brother, Orm, who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms against the surface world.

The 2018 film is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The studio took the first step toward production of “Aquaman 2’’earlier this month by bringing back David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick to write the script and it is considered to be the first titled film to land on Dec. 16, 2022.

“Aquaman 2” will be produced by “Aquaman” director James Wan and Peter Safran. “Aquaman” has over-performed for Warner Bros., coming in above pre-release projections after launching with $68.7 million in its opening weekend in North America.

The movie, currently the 20th highest worldwide grosser of all time has gained momentum in subsequent weeks and has hit $330 million in North America and $805 million internationally, led by nearly $300 million in China.

Aquaman has been tagged the fifth highest grossing film of 218 with a gross of over $1.1 billion worldwide.

Johnson-McGoldrick teamed with Will Beall on the “Aquaman” script, from a story by Beall, Geoff Johns, and Wan. Johnson-McGoldrick began working on the screenplay three years ago after reading “Aquaman” comic books while on the set of Wan’s “The Conjuring 2.”

The superhero tentpole stars Jason Momoa as the title character, with Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman in supporting roles.

Warner Bros. also announced three weeks ago that it was developing “The Trench,” a horror movie spinoff to “Aquaman.”

Wan and Safran will produce “The Trench”; a director and cast aren’t currently attached.

NAN