A good DCEU film is hard to come by, especially when it is based on one of the cheesiest and easily mocked DC heroes. But James Wan was able to pull off the impossible with Aquaman. Not only is it a hit with critics and audiences, but it was more than enough of a box office success for it to spawn a developing spinoff.

New reports confirm that an Aquaman spinoff titled The Trench is being developed based on the fanged amphibious creatures of the same name which pursued Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) towards the deepest and darkest part of the ocean. More on this below.

Per THR, the tentatively titled The Trench will be produced by Wan, and have a significantly smaller budget than that of Aquaman. Additionally, Aquaman is not likely to appear in it. Other details are being kept a secret.

The Trench are a group of new characters that have appeared in Aquaman comics, having made their debut back in 2011. The creatures are former Atlanteans who devolved into these hideous fanged ocean dwellers when the kingdom of Atlantis sunk below the ocean. So it stands to reason that this film will explore the early days of Atlantis before it met its apocalyptic demise.

WB will bring in new scribes Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald to pen the script. Gardner and Fitzgerald served as assistants on J.J. Abrams’ Super 8. Their other credits include a submarine thriller titled The Volos.

I have to admit, even with its success, I never expected to see a spinoff this soon. It’s even more surprising to see a horror spinoff based on the Trench. But it makes sense given the aforementioned reasons. There was an entire sequence dedicated to telling the audience what became of Atlantis and how it split into seven different tribes. When it is revealed how the Trench came to be, it left the door open for a possible prequel. But that is speculation on my part.

Is this WB just looking for a reason to expand the DCEU by utilizing obscure characters from their hit films? It sure does look like it. So will general audiences be able to figure out that the Trench is a part of the Aquaman cinematic lore? I guess we will have to wait and see. Until then, we will keep you posted on any new updates should they come in.

[Source: THR]