First Aquaman Test Screening Reactions: Can It Save the DCEU?

James Wan’sAquamanrecently held some test screenings and the reactions have praised the action and the emotion of theDCEU movie. This is definitely good news for Warner Bros. and DC Films after the release ofJustice League, which is still being talked about today, a good 4 months after the release of the movie. The project seemed to be doomed from the start and it suffered at the box office; a sharp contrast from the success ofWonder Womanover the summer.

Early reactions are starting to trickle in from the test screenings ofAquamanand they are overwhelmingly positive. The sources claim to have “loved” the movie and then praised the action packed emotional story. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as Jason Momoa’sAquamanwas a bright spot inJustice Leagueand the production of the movie seemed to go off without a hitch. And from the set pictures, it looks like it was pretty much a party behind-the-scenes with adult beverages and custom guitars getting sent to Momoa.

The positive reviews forAquamancome after some new reports suggest that there have been some changes to the comics for the big screen. It appears that Dolph Lundgren’s King Nereus will be Mera’s (Amber Heard) father in the movie, which iscompletely different from the comics. In the original comics, Nereus was a part of an exiled group of Ataleans known as the Xebels. Lundgren confirmed the new relationship in a recent interview and fans have been divided about the drastic change for the movie. However, most of the comic book movies have beenadapted and changed quite a bitto end up on the big screen.

We still have nearly a year beforeAquamanhits theaters and we’ve yet tosee a full trailer, which has been rumored for weeks now. The movie is one of the most anticipated superhero movies of the year, but it is going to have some big shoes to fill with the recently releasedBlack Panther. The Marvel movie has been breaking records and is tearing up the box office. Additionally,Infinity WarandDeadpool 2come out this summer, ahead ofAquaman. These movies are not in direct competition, but it will be hard for the DCEU to compete with the MCU numbers.

It’s reassuring to hear that the initial reviews for James Wan’sAquamanhave been positive. Hopefully, Wan and the cast can deliver a movie that matches the excitement and success ofWonder Womanat the box office. Patty Jenkins’Wonder Womancame out over the summer and was the highest grossing movie of the dull season that included Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There’s been a quite a few changes behind-the-scenes at Warner Bros. and DC Films, so it will be interesting to see how the promotional campaign is handled forAquaman. While we wait to find out, you can check out the reports from theAquamantest screenings from theBatman News Twitteraccount.