5 DC Movies & Shows To Watch Before Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom

The release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is fast upon audiences, making it a good a time as ever to revisit some of the DCEU best work both with and without the character. After ten long years, the DCEU will be drawing to a close with the release of the second Aquaman movie, something of a strange note to end on considering the character’s relative unimportance. Despite the imminent approach of the franchise’s end, it’s important to observe some DCEU movies, as some DCEU films will carry over to the DCU.

When looking at the DCEU as a whole, it’s possible to boil down the series into five films and TV shows that are worth revisiting before coming back to Atlantis to close out Arthur Curry’s story. DCEU entries that have featured Aquaman, even if briefly, tend to be critically important to the overarching plot of the series, the character’s inclusion being a sort of litmus test for the importance of a given story within the franchise. Revisiting these critical points along Aquaman’s appearances will be a great appetizer given what Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will focus on.

5 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

2016

The second film in the DCEU and the first appearance of Aquaman along with many other heroes, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice truly set the tone for the universe going forward. Establishing Ben Affleck’s older, more calloused Batman, it’s easy to forget that Batman v Superman saw the first appearance of a great many touchstone DC characters. Criticism can certainly be leveled at the film for being too ambitious, oftentimes crumbling under the enormous weight of its crowded plot lines. That being said, it did manage to define a darker tone for the DCEU that later films would sadly abandon.

As far as Aquaman’s story goes, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the very beginning, coyly teasing the King of Atlantis with archival footage on Batman’s computer. Though Aquaman is just one third of the Caped Crusader’s research delving into metahumans, he manages to stick out as a mysterious sea-dwelling vigilante betraying the existence of an entire hidden civilization. This undeniably gave him a certain appeal that The Flash and Cyborg lack, which drove excitement for his future appearances.

4 Justice League

2017

Aquaman’s first true appearance, Joss Whedon’s Justice League was similar to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in that it was yet another team-up movie in which the majority of the members present hadn’t yet been given a solo film. The DCEU was eager to jump into the climactic, epic event of the Justice League’s first mission without first doing the homework of introducing each member’s unique stories. The result was yet another bloated narrative that had to divide its attention too many ways, with no single new League member introduced truly getting enough time to shine.

Critique was also leveled at Justice League for having a noticeably goofier tone than previous DCEU fare, overcorrecting on feedback from those who didn’t enjoy the more grim tone of Snyder’s films with snappy, jokey dialogue courtesy of Joss Whedon. Aquaman himself was on the receiving end of much of this injected levity, acting as a sort of lovable oaf to balance out the seriousness of Batman, Cyborg and Wonder Woman. This angle worked well enough for Aquaman’s first true role in the DCEU, endearing skeptical audiences to the character who had been more well-known as the butt of fish-related jokes.

3 Zack Snyder’s Justice League

2021

Looking back, it’s truly remarkable that fan pressure was great enough off the back of the “Whedonized” Justice League that Zack Snyder’s original vision was able to be at least partially realized four years later. Gone was the quippy dialogue and trailer-bait one-liners, replaced with more development time for Steppenwolf and Cyborg alongside broader lore implications for the DCEU going forward. For whatever can be said about Zack Snyder’s vision for the DCEU, it was at least a consistent, singular vision, unlike the original cut’s accessible, toothless humor sanded to a mirror polish by studio interference.

As far as Aquaman was effected, Arthur Curry’s character is noticeably more somber compared to the previous theatrical cut. He expresses clear anger and remorse at the death of Cyborg’s father, perhaps more so than any other League member barring Cyborg himself. While Zack Snyder’s Aquaman still cracks jokes, he’s no longer the designated team himbo of the Justice League. The Snyder cut also benefited from the release of Aquaman between its own release and the original Justice League, meaning Snyder didn’t have to try as hard to sell audiences on Aquaman.

2 Aquaman

2018

Of course, it comes as no surprise that Aquaman’s first solo film is required watching for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Finally getting the spotlight all to himself, Aquaman truly shines in his native environment, getting sucked into the vortex of Atlantean political turmoil. Aquaman strikes an interesting balance compared to previous DCEU movies, clearly not taking itself all too seriously as an explosion-driven action movie, but not throwing all sense of self to the wind with a barrage of uneeded humor, either. The solid performances, fascinating world building and great fight scenes make Aquaman a slept on gem in DCEU’s list of movies.

The first Aquaman movie seems to have a good relationship with its sequel, as well. The power struggle between Arthur and his half-brother, the Ocean Master, is developed well enough to have more room for a sequel to explore, while still being wrapped up neatly enough to have been put down without further elaboration. Not only that, but Aquaman introduces one of the DCEU’s strongest villains with Black Manta, leaving fans hungry for a repeate performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

1 Peacemaker

2022

Peacemaker may have seemed like a strange choice to carry the DCEU’s only solo series to-date, but John Cena’s brilliant performance as the C-List anti-villain was a rock solid foundation for an equaly vulgar, hilarious, and touching show. Aquaman’s involvement here doesn’t extend beyond a brief cameo, with fish jokes once again made at his expense, but his character fits much more seamlessly into the tone of the series than the rest of the Justice League. Considering Peacemaker just may be the DCEU’s crowning achievement, it’s the perfect palate cleanser to enjoy before the franchise ends with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.