Over a billion dollars at the box office. Sprawling undersea battle sequences with warrior sharks and a Julie Andrews-voiced kraken. That fan-favourite drumming octopus. It’s fair to say that Aquaman’s solo debut on the big screen was no damp squib – instead it was a rollicking deep-sea dive into DC’s subaquatic fantasy realm, with Jason Momoa bringing briny brawn to a classic comic book character. Now, he’s back as the King Of Atlantis – and reunited with director James Wan – for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, the sequel aiming to go bigger, better and wetter. Tridents at the ready.
The new issue of Empire takes a world-exclusive plunge into the long-awaited return of Aquaman himself, Arthur Curry, getting the down-low from filmmaker Wan on a blockbuster that’s oceanic in scale. This time Arthur is forced to team up with his villainous half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to avert impending disaster. His nemesis Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is on the warpath. Plus, Arthur is a dad now to a baby boy, and has officially taken up the mantle as Atlantis’ mollusk-managing monarch. Talk about responsibility. In a major new interview, Wan talks Empire through the film’s horror-inflected design touch-points, its unexpected buddy-comedy DNA, Arthur’s new fatherly responsibilities – and the challenges he faced making a DC behemoth while the hierarchy of power on one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises changed before his very eyes. All that, and get ready for plenty of new images and never-before-seen concept art, teasing the visual splendour of this return trip to Atlantis.
This month’s newsstand cover sees Aquaman rising above to the surface world, ready to break the ice on his next adventure.
And this month’s cooler-than-cool subscriber cover is a subzero sculpture of our hero, created exclusively for Empire by Justin Metz.
And that’s only the half of it. Also in this month’s issue, we’re granted access to a chocolate paradise with Wonka, get existential with Werner Herzog, go to Graceland with Priscilla, and fire up the TARDIS with the latest incarnation of Doctor Who. Plus, we dig into the mysteries of Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, prepare for a fresh take on a classic with the musical adaptation of The Color Purple, explore the wild Hollywood history of Jimmy the raven, and much, much more. As magazine issues go, this one’s bigger than a blue whale.
Run (or, swim) to your local newsstand to pick up the Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom issue when it hits shelves on Thursday 26 October. Pre-order a copy online here, or become an Empire member to access the digital edition on launch day. Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom comes to UK cinemas from 20 December.