We were surprised (and excited) to learn last month that WB is planning an Aquaman spinoff titled The Trench, said to be “horror-tinged” and centered on the ocean-dwelling race of creatures that made a memorable appearance in James Wan’s hit movie last year. Aquaman 2 is set for release in 2022, and it looks like The Trench will arrive in theaters before that.
“We always, even from the early concept art days, loved the idea of a Trench movie,” producer Peter Safran just told THR. “Then, when audiences embraced it in the movie itself the way they did, particularly that ant farm shot where the camera follows the Trench [creatures] following Arthur and Mera down into the deep, we just knew that we had something very special there and we knew what that movie should be. And consequently, I suspect that that’s one that will come out significantly before Aquaman 2.”
Safran also told the site that The Trench will take place after the events of Aquaman, and that Aquaman himself will not be appearing in it. Nor will Mera, Safran notes.
“We’ve definitely taken a page from our Conjuring playbook, which is: You’ve got the mothership, which is Aquaman, but there are so many great stories to tell within that universe of itself, that Atlantean universe,” he explained.
Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald have been hired to write the script.
James Wan will produce The Trench.