Well, it looks like Warner Bros. and DC have a full plate laid out in front of them. Not only is there the Harley Quinn-themed movie Birds of Prey coming our way in February 2020, but they also have writer-director James Gunn's reboot of The Suicide Squad coming soon as well. And it looks like their plate is going to be getting a bit fuller in the next year or so. Today we're hearing that they are looking to capitalize on the box office success of Aquaman and are hoping for director James Wan to commence shooting on Aquaman 2 in early 2021.

And this timeline makes sense as Warner Bros. has already confirmed that they plan to unleash the new aquatic adventure on the masses come December 2022. The Aquaman 2 story is locked and loaded, and ready to go. This means they would need to be kicking off pre-production in 2020. And it seems from what we've been hearing, that timeline is on-track as the first film's co-writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick has been confirmed to return to pen the screenplay for Aquaman 2.

But the Aquaman train doesn't stop there. On top of this new entry in the flagship Aquaman series, let's not forget that the producers are also currently looking for a director to helm their planned horror movie spin-off The Trench based on those killer monsters from Wan's original film. Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald have already been tapped to pen the script. Personally, I just might be looking forward to seeing The Trench more than Aquaman 2 as those monsters could make for one hell of a John Carpenter meets Marvel-style horror-opus. But let's just wait and see who the powers that be behind the scenes end up snagging as director. Hell, why not Carpenter? I know for a fact the man is still out there planning his return to directing. Make it happen Warner Bros.!

While as a fan I'm glad to see Warner and DC pushing to get James Wan back into the director's chair for Aquaman 2, which Jason Momoa promises will be bigger and better, truth be told, the sequel was kind of a given. After all, Wan's original adventure grossed a mighty $335 million here in North America and over $812 million across the globe for a total of over $1 billion worldwide. That makes it the highest-grossing installment in the DCEU and highest-grossing film based on any DC characters, and it's said the studios snagged a net profit of over $260 million all said and done. And with those kinds of numbers, I can't imagine a sequel isn't a top priority for Warner and DC. But before things can get started, James Wan is shooting a secret horror movie first called Malignant.

Wan's original film sported a killer cast that included Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman along with Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius / Ocean Master, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane / Black Manta, and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna. There is currently no telling who will be returning for Aquaman 2. But we'll keep you updated. In the meantime, this story comes to us via Variety.