We knew it could be like The Silver Age and that Black Manta could ultimately win, but that appears to be what James Wan is going for with Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. Sources claim an aspect of this era we previously discussed multiple times is what has everybody so upset with the film and walking out of test screenings.
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Twitter scooper CanWeGetSomeToast and others revealed that Aquaman’s newborn son is going to die at the hands of the villain. Naturally, this report isn’t sitting well with viewers and would-be viewers. A skeptical Grace Randolph thinks the trailer doesn’t quite convey a feeling for the story. She also reveals she heard people walked out of free screenings.
This baby is going to fucking die btw https://t.co/8jiRcUkFVS pic.twitter.com/fvcZBh7ItY
— CanWeGetSomeToast (@CanWeGetToast) September 14, 2023
She didn’t specify why but her coverage parallels the outrage and other reports that Aquaman 2 is so bad that people can’t deign to sit through it. Now we know why, if this latest scoop is true, and it appears Warner Bros. is trying to sucker unsuspecting theater-goers into seeing the movie with a trailer most consider decent.
That is correct https://t.co/iGHVo40cN1
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) September 16, 2023
It “goes hard.” But seriously, what is the uproar? What goes wrong for Aquaman (and right for Black Manta)? Well, in short, Manta succeeds in completing his mission to make his enemy’s life a living hell. Plot leaks explain that the villain needs the blood of the infant to bring back the titular and nefarious Lost Kingdom.
And, as Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s villainous character puts it in the trailer, “I’m going to kill Aquaman and destroy everything he holds dear…I’m going to murder his family and burn his kingdom to ash.” This means things get messy as he shoots for the realm of pagan human sacrifice. So, it shouldn’t be taken as a coincidence we see shots of the baby and a burning lighthouse.
A scene of baby-killing would be the second weird occurrence with infants in a DC movie this year after The Flash and its opening scene. Like Andy Muschietti, James Wan started as a horror director and gave us the Saw series, but killing a baby would be a new low for him.