Development
During the production of Aquaman (2018), star Jason Momoa developed a story pitch for a sequel that he gave to Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich and producer Peter Safran. In October 2018, before the film's release, Momoa said he would be more involved in the development of a potential sequel and expected filming to begin in 2019. Director James Wan said several storylines could spin out from Aquaman, with that film introducing seven underwater kingdoms that had yet to be fully explored. Momoa and his producing partner Brian Mendoza wrote a 50-page treatment for the sequel, which Warner Bros. bought but did not entirely follow, and the actor was paid $15 million for his involvement. Emmerich had enough confidence in box office projections for the film by early December to begin discussing a sequel. By the end of January 2019, when Aquaman was set to become the highest-grossing film based on a single DC Comics character, Warner Bros. was in negotiations with Wan to oversee the development and writing of a sequel with the potential to return as director. Geoff Boucher of Deadline Hollywood noted that Wan had been very protective of sequels to his previous films Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013), and was "deeply invested" in the worldbuilding of Aquaman. Wan had previously compared the world of Aquaman to other fictional worlds such as Middle-earth, the Star Wars galaxy, and the Wizarding World.
In early February 2019, Warner Bros. hired Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald to write the script for a "horror-tinged" Aquaman spin-off film titled The Trench, based on one of the kingdoms introduced in the first film. It was expected to have a smaller budget and not feature the main cast of Aquaman, with Wan and Safran producing. Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter reported then that there had not yet been serious discussions about a direct sequel to Aquaman between the studio, Wan, and Momoa, due to them wanting to have a "breather" first, but several days later he reported that active development on a sequel was getting underway with the first film's co-writer, and frequent Wan collaborator, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick signing on to write the screenplay. Wan and Safran were producing the sequel; however, it was still unclear if Wan would direct it. At the end of February, Warner Bros. scheduled Aquaman 2 for release on December 16, 2022. The next month, Safran explained that he and Wan did not want to rush a sequel, and Warner Bros. had been supportive of that, which is why the film's release was scheduled for four years after the first film. He added that they were approaching the Aquaman franchise similarly to The Conjuring Universe, with spin-offs like The Trench exploring stories about the underwater kingdoms alongside the "mothership" films featuring Aquaman. Safran said Wan knew "the architecture, the armory, the military, the look, the feel, [and] the general vibe" of each of the seven kingdoms and wanted to explore them all in future projects.
In July 2019, Wan was set to direct the film Malignant (2021) before beginning work on Aquaman 2. Patrick Wilson said in November that he had discussed plans for the sequel with Wan and indicated that he would be reprising his role as Orm Marius / Ocean Master from the first film. A month later, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II confirmed that he was returning as David Kane / Black Manta, and was looking to flesh out the character. Johnson-McGoldrick stated in March 2020 that the sequel would not be based on a specific comic book, but was taking inspiration from the Aquaman stories of the Silver Age of Comic Books that featured Black Manta as the villain. Wan was confirmed to be directing the sequel at the virtual DC FanDome event in August, when Wilson was also confirmed to return. Wan said it would be more serious than the first film and feature themes that were more relevant to the real world, such as climate change. He said the creatives were not afraid to address this on a big scale through the film, noting that the Aquaman character is environmentally conscious in the comics and fights to keep the ocean clean. He also affirmed that the film would remain a "fun action-fantasy movie". Momoa said a scene was featured in the film in which Aquaman addresses the United Nations on climate change, with the actor having previously done so at the UN's Ocean Conference. Wan added that the film would include more worldbuilding and exploration of the underwater kingdoms, and would feature some horror elements similar to the Trench sequence in the first film. Being able to expand on the worldbuilding of the first film was one of the key reasons that Wan chose to direct the sequel, along with Johnson-McGoldrick's script which Wan felt had a "really cool story to bring all these characters back, and then growing them in a big way". Safran felt embracing the mythic nature of the Aquaman character and pairing that with the film's worldbuilding and visual storytelling made the film compelling. He and Momoa both believed the film's humor exceeded that of the first film, while Wan said Aquaman was at the center of the film with his charm and humor.
Amber Heard debunked rumors in November 2020 that she would not be reprising her role as Mera from the first film following allegations of domestic abuse made against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp. That month, a petition to have Heard fired from the franchise received more than 1.5 million signatures, and came after Warner Bros. removed Depp from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) when allegations made by The Sun that Depp abused Heard were ruled to be "substantially true" in the defamation lawsuit Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd, filed against The Sun's owner. Safran said they never considered making the film without Heard and would not react to the "pure fan pressure" of the petition and other social media conversations. However, Heard later stated, during a second defamation trial in Depp v. Heard that was brought against her by Depp over a column in The Washington Post, that "they didn't want to include" her in the film, and that she had to fight to keep her part. She claimed that revisions were made to the script that reduced her role to a "very pared down version", including removing action sequences for her character, and she was unable to renegotiate her option contract that stipulated she would earn $2 million for the sequel, which was double what she made for the first film. By that point, in May 2022, the petition to have Heard removed from the film had received more than four million signatures.
DC Films president Walter Hamada testified during Depp and Heard's defamation trial that the studio considered recasting Mera, but only because of concerns about Heard's lack of chemistry with Momoa, not the abuse allegations. He added that it was the studio's philosophy to "hold people to their options" and not to renegotiate contracts, and said the size of Heard's role had not changed during the sequel's development. Hamada explained that the film was always intended to be a buddy comedy that focused on the relationship between Aquaman and Orm. Safran compared this relationship to that of Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy's characters in the film 48 Hrs. (1982), while Wan said the film was written as a "bromance action-adventure" story focused on that relationship with the two brothers "overcoming their differences to save the world", compared to the first film which focused on Aquaman's relationship with Mera.
Tatiana Siegel at Variety reported that Heard had been "nearly fired" from the sequel after the first film's release due to the chemistry concerns, but these plans were abandoned after her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk intervened. Siegel also reported that the "lack-of-chemistry narrative" had been disputed, citing that Heard had performed a chemistry test with Momoa on the first film and had been cast over two other actresses, including Abbey Lee. Heard described her experience with Momoa and Wan on the film's set as hostile, which was refuted by a DC spokesperson who called the production positive and collaborative. Depp v. Heard's jury ultimately found that both Heard and Depp defamed each other, with Heard having defamed Depp on three counts and Depp having defamed her on one count. Social media responses to the trial heavily favored Depp over Heard, with several memes and videos "mocking her testimony". In June 2022, reports emerged that Heard had been fired from the film following the trial; however, these claims were subsequently debunked. Heard ultimately appeared for around 20 minutes in the film, with two of her scenes—a fight sequence with Black Manta and a love scene with Momoa—reportedly cut during production. Several commentators noted upon the film's release that many of Heard's scenes had been removed and that the remaining scenes appeared to be "clunky" and "awkward". Actor Dolph Lundgren, who portrays Mera's father Nereus, later said that he and Heard had larger roles in the original cut and script before they were reduced during reshoots.
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