Warner Bros. shook up its film release schedule Friday, shifting DC superhero extravaganza “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ever-so-slightly — two days from Wednesday to Friday, Dec. 20 to Dec. 22 — and Robert De Niro mobster picture “Alto Knights” (formerly “The Wise Guys”) from Feb. 2, 2024 to Nov. 15, 2024.
Now opening Christmas weekend, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is the sequel to 2018’s “Aquaman,” still the highest grossing DC movie in history, with $1.152 billion worldwide. Director James Wan returns for the sequel, as do stars Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman.
According to DC’s official synopsis, the sequel will find the villainous Black Manta, “still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death,” stopping at nothing to “take Aquaman down once and for all.”
“This time, Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force,” the synopsis continues. “To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.”
The sequel will also serve as the unceremonious end of the Zack Snyder-led DC Extended Universe, before the streamlined DC Universe, overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, begins in earnest.
“Alto Knights,” directed by Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi, stars De Niro in dual roles alongside Debra Messing and Kathrine Narducci. The official synopsis reads says that “Alto Knights” “follows two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and how their separate paths to power place them on a deadly collision course.” Pileggi wrote De Niro classics “Goodfellas” and “Casino” for Martin Scorsese and worked on Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” as well.
