It has previously been reported that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom underwent extensive reshoots after Warner Bros. made the decision to end the DCEU and start from scratch with James Gunn's DCU, while the Aquaman sequel was still in production.
One result of that decision was the removal of Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne from the film, who was originally said to be continuing his return to the role of The Dark Knight after appearing in The Flash- becoming something of a Nick Fury-type figure in the DCEU, recruiting heroes for a looming "Crisis."
Instead of Keaton, Ben Affleck's Batman reportedly stepped in to film a cameo as the original version of the film required Batman's presence. However, when the final edit of the film was released in theaters, it seemed director James Wan and WB had decided the best option for the film would be to remove Batman altogether and make the sequel a standalone film.
Now, in a new interview with UPI to promote his upcoming film Wanted Man, actor Dolph Lundgren is revealing that the reshoot changed a lot more than just removing DCEU cameos.
"My opinion is that I thought the original script was great. I was a bigger part of it and Amber Heard was a bigger part of it," said Lundgren.
He continued, "The studio decided, I guess, to just reshoot a bunch of footage to try to rebuild a slightly different storyline. That's tricky because you can't reshoot the whole movie."
However, Lundgren is a veteran actor and it sounds like he's not losing any sleep over the reduced role. "When you start inserting different story elements into something [with which] there was a unity that worked, then you can get in trouble. It was a little frustrating for me. I felt a little disappointed, but life goes on."
Amber Heard has also previously maintained that her role as Mera in the sequel had been reduced but now we have Lundgren supporting Mera's claim. Of course, Heard's claims of a reduced role stemmed from her high-profile defamation case with Johnny Depp.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is actually proving to be one of the more successful DCEU movies of recent release. The film recently surpassed the $330 million global box office mark and tracking currently has the sequel ending its theatrical run north of $400 million.
Still, that's a far cry from the first film's $1.15 billion global box office haul.
Now, Aquaman fans are left to wonder if Atlantis' king has a place in James Gunn's new cinematic universe. Star Jason Momoa continuing on with WB/DC as Lobo appears to be one of Hollywood's worst-kept secrets at the moment.
If Lobo has a prominent role, it's hard to imagine the studio having another actor portray Aquaman and potentially share screentime next Momoa in a Justice League film or some other team-up movie.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was released in North American theaters on December 22, 2023. Did you see the final DCEU film in theaters or are you waiting for it to hit OnDemand or stream on MAX? Let us know in the comment section below.