As Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom looks to bring the DCEU to an end, it now sets a disappointing record regarding its first trailer.
With delay concerns spreading across the entire entertainment industry due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Aquaman 2 still looks to remain on track for a theatrical release by the end of the year.
But while the movie's release date hasn't seen any drastic changes in some time, that leaves another question in play with almost no official footage out to the public at this time.
Aquaman 2 Trailer Sets New DCEU Record
As of August 29, 2023, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has not had its first official trailer released online or in theaters, although fans saw an exclusive bit of footage during Warner Bros.' presentation at CinemaCon 2023.
With 114 days until Aquaman 2 hits the big screen, the sequel now sets the DCEU record for the shortest window between the release of a film's first trailer and its theatrical release date.
Analyzing the promotional windows for the other 14 movies in the DCEU, the previous record was also set this year with the trailer for The Flash. That movie's first trailer went public on February 12, which was only 124 days before the multiversal epic finally made its way to the big screen on June 16.
The record for the longest of these windows belongs to 2016's Suicide Squad. That movie's first trailer came more than a full year before the film, debuting on July 13, 2015, while Suicide Squad itself didn't hit theaters until August 5, 2016.
Coming in a close second place on the high end is 2020's Wonder Woman: 1984 at 383 days, although the COVID-19 pandemic changed that film's release date multiple times. Initially meant to debut on July 5, 2020, Wonder Woman 2 was delayed until December 25 of the same year, also being forced to release day-and-date as it arrived in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously.
With the other movies averaging a 217.6-day promotional window, the full DCEU list can be seen below, with those movies being listed in release order:
- Man of Steel: December 11, 2012 / June 14, 2013 - 185 days
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: April 18, 2015 / March 25, 2016 - 342 days
- Suicide Squad: July 13, 2015 / August 5, 2016 - 389 days
- Wonder Woman: November 3, 2016 / June 2, 2017 - 211 days
- Justice League: March 25, 2017 / November 17, 2017 - 237 days
- Aquaman: July 21, 2018 / December 21, 2018 - 153 days
- Shazam! - July 21, 2018 / April 5, 2019 - 258 days
- Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn): October 1, 2019 / February 7, 2020 - 129 days
- Wonder Woman 1984: December 8, 2019 / December 25, 2020 - 383 days
- The Suicide Squad: March 26, 2021 / August 5, 2021 - 132 days
- Black Adam: June 8, 2022 / October 21, 2022 - 135 days
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods: July 23, 2022 / March 17, 2023 - 237 days
- The Flash: February 12, 2023 / June 16, 2023 - 124 days
- Blue Beetle: April 3, 2023 / August 18, 2023 - 137 days
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - TBA / December 20, 2023 - <114 days
Also of note is that Zack Snyder's Justice League had a 207-day window between the release of its first trailer (August 23, 2020) and its debut date (March 18, 2021), although it was only released on HBO Max rather than in theaters.
Warner Bros. also released a 60-second trailer teasing four upcoming movies in February 2022, although it only included about four seconds of footage from Aquaman 2 showing Jason Momoa in his new super-suit.
What's Causing Aquaman 2 Trailer Delay?
Although the current state of the DCEU is certainly a factor in this trailer being delayed with Aquaman 2 being the final movie in this story, the film itself could be part of why the trailer is being held back.
At the center of the problems is the recently-settled legal controversy surrounding Mera star Amber Heard, who will certainly kickstart conversations amongst fans if she's shown in footage from this new sequel.
Additionally, test screenings for the film caused concern for its eventual reception with fans, leading to some fairly heavy reshoots in order to deliver the best possible outcome for all parties involved.
This also comes as Warner Bros. looks to recover from a trio of massive flops from the DCEU, with The Flash in particular becoming one of the worst failures in superhero movie history.
While the first Aquaman 2 trailer will have to be released at some point in the near future, this record could potentially continue to grow as Warner Bros. makes a decision on how to promote this sequel further.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to splash into theaters on December 25.
