Aquaman writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick returns for sequel

The billion-dollar underwater epic fantasy, Aquaman is getting its squad together for a sequel with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick writing the script.

There’s a lot to be excited about with Walter Hamada’s DCEU. And it’s all thanks to James Wan’s billion-dollar underwater sea adventure, Aquaman.

In his first comic book movie debut, Aquaman became the highest grossing DC film of all time. Like with any mega box office superhero flick, this film’s success warranted a sequel. And Warner Bros didn’t take long to greenlight it.

Unfortunately, Wan may not direct the sequel but he’s heavily involved. In fact, he’s in charge of gathering writers to develop a script worthy of his return to the director’s chair. The success of any movie is a team effort and writers are major influencers, Wan knows that.

According to The Wrap, Warner Bros hired David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick to pen the script for Aquaman 2.

Johnson-McGoldrick’s involvement brings continuity to the upcoming second film.

For starters, Johnson-McGoldrick worked with James Wan as a writer on The Conjuring 2. In addition to co-writing Aquaman with Will Beall.

This underwater adventure mostly focused on Arthur trying to stop his brother from causing a war between Atlantis and the land of man. However, Johnson-McGoldrick and Beall’s original script perfectly set up the sequel.

The first film was more than an Aquaman story. Fans saw the awakening of his longtime nemesis, Black Manta played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Manta’s hatred for Aquaman came at the heels of the hero leaving his father for dead.

With Manta’s hatred for Aquaman and the bloody history between them, Johnson-McGoldrick has great material to work with. As the movie concluded, fans witnessed the sheer power and intellect of Manta — worthy of a fantastic villain.

Let’s hope that whatever Johnson-McGoldrick comes up it’s enticing enough for James Wan to return. Aquaman continues to ride the waves and bring in boatloads of cash for the DCEU.

Johnson-McGoldrick isn’t the only writer working on an Aquaman project. Walter Hamada and WB hired Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald to develop a script for the Aquaman horror spinoff, The Trench.