Attention Continuity Nerds: ‘Aquaman’ Is Set After ‘Justice League’
If you like navigating confusing timelines and tracking publishing schedules just so stories make sense, I highly recommend becoming a comic book reader. Here is one of the few entertainment mediums where editorial asterisks will be deployed to explain why a dead character is suddenly alive in the new issue you’re reading – it takes placebeforethe story where he died, you see. And this issue wassupposedto come out before he died, but there was a behind-the-scenes delay that saw the release schedule shuffled. Staying on top of comic book continuity can be a weird thing!
And since comic book movies are becoming more and more like actual comic books, it makes sense that everyone has started obsessing about the whens and wheres of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. So here’s your latest update: the upcomingAquamanis set after the upcomingJustice League.
Speaking with producerCharles Roven,CinemaBlendlearned that James Wan’s upcomingAquamansolo movie will take place afterJustice Leagueand will even reference what goes down in Zack Snyder’s superhero team-up. Here’s the full quote:
Aquamanwill make reference [toJustice League]. There will be some reference of something that precededAquamanthat will be inAquaman. I believe that is the intention. James [Wan] definitely knows where he’s going with [Aquaman], and that movie takes place in a world whereJustice Leaguehappened, andMan of Steelhappened, andWonder Womanobviously takes place beforeMan of Steel– except for the bookends we have. So that’s where we have the most ability to freeform. We could do a movie that takes place afterJustice League, we can do a movie that takes place afterBatman v Superman… well not really. you may’t do a movie in betweenBatman v SupermanandJustice League, but we can do movies that take place afterJustice Leagueand we can do movies that precedeJustice League.
While it’s admittedly silly to talk about the chronological order of movies we haven’t seen yet, piecing together the timeline of the Marvel and DC universes has always been a necessary part of comic book fandom. It’s about time moviegoers understood the struggle!
And since things can get slightly confusing (Wonder Womantakes place long beforeMan of SteelandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2takes place a few years beforeCaptain America: Civil War), these are the kinds of nerdy questions we should be asking! After all,Aquamancould have easily been a prequel that explores the earlier days of Arthur Curry. Now we know it’s not. And now we also know that the Earth isn’t totally destroyed at the end ofJustice Leagueand that the heroes save the day. Oops.Spoilers?!
Aquaman, which stars Jason Momoa as the ocean-faring superhero, is filming now for aDecember 21, 2018release date.Justice Leaguewill hit theaters onNovember 17, 2017.
