One of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s many trailers suggests that the two darkest theories. About the upcoming DC movie are true Aquaman. The Lost Kingdom is set to effectively end the DCEU ahead of James Gunn’s DCU reboot that will begin in 2024. As such, the film has the unwanted task of ending Arthur Curry’s story in only the character’s second solo outing. In doing so, the story of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may include a greater sense of finality than first thought.

Oftentimes with superhero movies, a feeling of finality is brought about by tragedy. Be it the supposed loss of Batman’s life in Christopher Nolan’s. The Dark Knight trilogy or the deaths of Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow during or shortly after Avengers: Endgame. The end of character’s lives in-universe tends to signify the end of their journeys. As such, two theories about significant deaths in the world of DC may have been supported by a recent trailer for Aquaman 2. Thus signaling a dark ending for the DCEU and Aquaman’s journey in the franchise.

Aquaman 2’s Recent Trailer Hints At Two Dark DCEU Theories Coming True

Since the first trailer for the film was released a long-standing. Aquaman 2 theory was that the titular character’s father and son would be killed by Black Manta. The first look at the primary villain of the film included a voice-over from actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stating: “I’m gonna kill Aquaman and destroy everything he holds dear. I’m gonna murder his family, and burn his kingdom to ash.” This led many to believe that Black Manta would fulfill his dark promises in Aquaman 2‘s story, something that a recent international trailer for the film supports.

One scene in the trailer shows Aquaman’s father’s house burning to the ground. After this, a shot can be spotted of Aquaman seemingly grieving over. Thomas Curry’s body, potentially hinting at either death or severe injury for the character and matching the aforementioned theories. Furthermore, the final shots of the trailer show Black Manta standing above Arthur’s infant son, with Aquaman screaming “Get away from my son!”. As such, this trailer supports the theories surrounding the loss of some of Aquaman’s loved ones in the film. Which would end his DCEU journey on a surprisingly dark note.

Aquaman 2 Ending The DCEU Makes These Theories Much More Grim

What makes these already-dark theories that much more grim is the fact that the DCEU is ending with Aquaman 2. If these tragic losses were included in the second film of a trilogy, the third film could show Aquaman. Overcoming his pain to fully solidify his rule as the King of the Seven Seas in a similar way to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Gwen’s death. However, just like the Marvel example, a third installment will not be coming due to the DCU’s reboot.  Just as Sony rebooted Spider-Man in the MCU.

This would make Aquaman 2 much darker than it was originally intended. While reshoots could have changed the ending of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to better reflect its unwanted status as the DCEU’s final film. It would still be strangely grim to have Arthur’s journey end with the death of his father and son. As such, it could well be the case that Warner Bros. changed one. Or both of these plot points to provide more of a solid ending to the film as well as the franchise it belongs to. No matter how much the recent Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer hints at Black Manta’s dark deeds.