Willem Dafoe will not be returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, as confirmed by director James Wan.
The actor played Vulko, the chief counselor to the throne of Atlantis, and mentor to Arthur Curry, in the first film released in 2018 that made a billion dollars at the box office.
“Willem is not in this one, no,” director James Wan filled in EW.com. “Part of the reason was because his schedule did not work out for us.”
Nicole Kidman takes over
Wan continued and confirmed that instead of Willem Dafoe as Vulko playing the mentor role to Aquaman, in steps Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna, Arthur’s mother.
“But what that allowed me to do was expand on Atlanna’s role. Atlanna in this one ultimately becomes Arthur’s advisor. Because Arthur’s not from this world, she helps him better understand the world and the politics of how things work,” he said.
James Wan also confirmed his Aquaman movies exist in a separate universe, and responded to Batman and negative press surrounding the movie.
What about Amber Heard?
Willem Dafoe isn’t the only actor cut as Amber Heard has claimed her role as Mera has been drastically reduced in the sequel, but much like the former head of WB films said back at the Johnny Depp trial, James Wan says that has been the plan all along.
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go,” Wan said. “The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie.”
During the Johnny Depp trial, former WB films boss Walter Hamada testified that Amber Heard didn’t have any onscreen chemistry with Jason Momoa and that the sequel would be a buddy film with Patrick Wilson.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom gets released on Dec. 20.
Watch the trailer:
