A new trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom splashed down, and for all its action, it opens up with a tender moment: Jason Momoa's comic hero Arthur Curry talking to his baby son.
The infant is a chip off the old block, using his aquatic telepathy to talk "to the fishies" in a tank.
"You and me, son," he tells the boy. "We're special: We're connected to the land and the sea ... I can't wait to show you how awesome this world can be."
However, the peace is interrupted by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta, who is back from the first movie with revenge on his mind.
"I'm gonna kill Aquaman, even if I have to make a deal with the devil to do it."
At the center of that deal, the mythic Black Trident, and Manta's oath to end Aquaman's bloodline. That puts Aquaman's whole family at risk, baby included, so he forges an unlikely alliance with his former brother baddie Orm, the former king of Atlantis.
The trailer also shows returning players Nicole Kidman as both characters' mom, Atlanna, and Arthur's human dad, Tom, played by Book of Boba Fett veteran Temuera Morrison. There are also the over-the-top underwater battles, the likes of which director James Wan broke new ground with in the original film.
Interestingly, it doesn't show Amber Heard's Mera.
Warner Bros.' synopsis reads, "After failing to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta wields the power of the mythic Black Trident to unleash an ancient and malevolent force. Hoping to end his reign of terror," Aquaman and Orm "join forces to protect their kingdom and save the world from irreversible destruction."
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will now be released on December 22.
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