I loved the first Aquaman movie. I loved Jason Momoa in the lead role. I loved how it built to an insane ending, where Aquaman and Orm are in comics accurate costumes fighting in the middle of a giant undersea war. It was a crazy movie, and it earned that billion dollars. So I’m mildly excited for the upcoming sequel: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Granted, there are a lot of bad signs about this film. I don’t think DC necessarily makes bad movies now. I really enjoyed Blue Beetle and mostly enjoyed The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. So I have high hopes at at least enjoying Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. It comes out at the end of December, just ahead of Christmas. And we’re supposed to get the first trailer tomorrow. So I’m in the mood to talk some Aquaman movies!

Join me after the jump for what I’d like to see in this upcoming Aquaman sequel. And feel free to share your own hopes and fears in the comments below!

6. More comics accurate costumes

Aquaman has a great look, and it translated very well to the big screen. That golden orange top, those green pants, the mighty trident; guy looks great. So let’s keep that up for the sequel. The first movie wasn’t afraid to look like the comic book, and the sequel shouldn’t either. Bring back that Third Act outfit. And feel free to put him in other Aquaman outfits, like that wavy, oceanic number from the 90s. And if you want to chop off his hand and give him a hook or a trident replacement, that would be cool too!

5. More Black Manta

So from my understanding, both Black Manta and Oceanmaster will be back for the sequel. Great! They were both good in the first movie, especially Manta. He looked awesome, he was a great fighter, and he’s just a cool villain all around who deserves his spot in the sun. So I look forward to Black Manta coming back and stomping a hole in Aquaman all over again. Make him as comic accurate as possible. A Black Manta-themed submarine would also not be amiss.

4. Sea friends

Aquaman needs some animal sidekicks. They don’t need to talk. They don’t need much personality. But he should have, like, a buddy, you know? Maybe a dolphin that visits him often? Maybe an octopus he hangs out with? He can control sea life, and it was used to great effect in the first film. But let’s make it a bit more personal, just to have fun with it.

3. A shark feeding frenzy

I don’t remember if this happened in the first movie and I’m not about to watch the whole thing over again to check. But Aquaman needs to use his powers to control sea life to have a shark feeding frenzy. We’ve seen it in the comics plenty of times, and it would be great for the big screen. People still fear sharks. People still love sharks on the big screen. So let’s show Aquaman’s awesome, dangerous power by having him control some sharks to go to town on the bad guys!

2. No Batman

I forget where the movie stands on its Batman cameo. Some websites said it was taken out. Some said it was Ben Affleck. Some said it was Michael Keaton. Nobody said it was George Clooney, but maybe? I don’t know and I don’t care, I don’t want Batman in this movie. The Flash didn’t bomb because of Batman, but I don’t think these other DC superheroes need Batman to share the spotlight. That’s reductive thinking and moviemaking and Aquaman doesn’t need it. So I’d be perfectly happen if Batman was left on the cutting room floor this time around.

1. Aqualad

I love sidekicks. It happens. It’s my thing. Aqualad isn’t the coolest of sidekicks, but he’s still a solid comic book character with a long history in the funny pages. He should make an appearance in the new movie. He doesn’t need to be Aquaman’s sidekick. He can just be another Atlantean who lends a hand or has a couple lines of dialogue. Would it really be too much trouble to just name one of the supporting Atlaneans “Garth”? It would be so much fun! Surely there are supporting characters in the movie, right? Throw the comic book fans a bone!

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