As the first solo AQUAMAN movie was nearing its release date everyone figured it was going to be a solid hit for Warner Bros. and the DC movie slate, but few probably imagined it would ride such a massive wave to over $1.1 billion around the world. Becoming the biggest DC movie ever, a sequel was quickly announced and we would have to wait until December 2022 to get it. That leaves some time to work on the story, but according to Aquaman himself Jason Momoa the story is already locked and ready to go.

The now beardless actor was on The Ellen Show (via CinemaBlend) promoting his new canned, environment-friendly water line, Mana Nalu, and it was there he was asked about the water, his fashion choices, and of course, AQUAMAN 2.

I was really, really, really, passionate, to do the second one because it’s the first time where it’s all on Earth. It’s combining land and sea, kind of like what I’m doing with this [environmental cause]. There’s no outside aliens destroying Earth, it’s us. And so I was excited to get back in there, and so I’ve been working with our previous writer, and getting in there, and we’ve got a locked story, and we’re getting into it. And I think it’s going to be like in two years or whatever. The beard will be back by then.

When we last saw Arthur Curry/Aquaman he was struggling with how to reconcile his human and Atlantean halves, and in the end, became the king and hero he needed to be with the hope of bridging the gap between land and sea. But, more importantly, he rocked a comic book-faithful set of armor that looked dope as all hell and then led a massive underwater sea battle featuring armored sharks and crab people. Perhaps a sequel will find him trying to make the Earth world aware of Atlantis and all it has to offer, much like what the ending of BLACK PANTHER set up in the Marvel universe.

Momoa, who recently shaved off his famous beard to draw attention to the environmental crisis stemming from the use of plastic water bottles, clearly has a passion for those causes and we can expect to see that come through in the movies. How we treat our oceans makes for the perfect narrative thread in the AQUAMAN movies, so don't be surprised if the future movies start trying to expand on that...on top of showing more crab people and sharks.

AQUAMAN 2 is set for December 2022.