Aquaman (2018)

Aquaman is a 2018 American superhero film based on the DC character of the same name. Co-produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, it stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman, who sets out to lead the underwater kingdom of Atlantis and stop his evil half-brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson) from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms to destroy the surface world. Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman also star in supporting roles.

Development began in 2004 but did not gain traction until Man of Steel was released in 2013. In August 2014, Beall and Kurt Johnstad were hired to write competing scripts. Wan signed on as director in April 2015, and in July 2016, the film moved forward with Beall's screenplay. The main cast was confirmed through 2016 and early 2017. Principal photography began in Australia in May 2017, taking place at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, with additional production teams in Canada, Italy, and Morocco. Filming concluded the following October. Several vendors provided visual effects and animation, ranging from high-detail hair simulations to the creation of CGI animals and locations.

Aquaman premiered in London on November 26, 2018, and was released in the United States on December 21. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it grossed $1.152 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing DCEU film, the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2018, and (at the time of its release) the 20th highest-grossing film of all time. A sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, was released on December 22, 2023, while a non-canonical animated miniseries, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, is set after the events of this film and was released in October 2021.