The references to the wider DCEU found in the new Aquaman movie may be few and far between, but it seems that James Wan’s picture contains more nods to Arthur Curry’s old Justice League co-stars than initially meets the eye. And since we’re going to be talking about one such Easter Egg that lies at the very end of the film, spoilers lie ahead.
The moment in question comes in the post-credits scene, where Black Manta wakes up in the home of Dr. Stephen Shin. On the wall of the room, we see an assortment of newspaper clippings featuring stories of the mysterious Aquaman, including one which refers to the hero as an “underwater Superman.”
But the shout out that’s really been getting the attention of the fans, and even earned a retweet last night from director Wan himself, is the headline that reads, “Wonder Woman Nixes Aquaman Dating Rumour.” The piece even looks to include a quote from Diana Prince herself, with the star of Wonder Woman 1984 reportedly saying, “It would never happen!”
This might well be a reference to the “Flashpoint” storyline, which was previously considered for The Flash solo movie, and saw Aquaman and Wonder Woman engaged in a romance that had some pretty messy consequences. And while we probably shouldn’t take this nod as anything other than the cute little Easter Egg it was intended to be, it’s nice to get some kind of update on Gal Gadot’s character, seeing how it could be a long wait before we see the heroine again in present day DCEU.
For Diana’s next movie, Patty Jenkins will be taking us back into the past once again, with Wonder Woman 1984 set to hit theaters on June 5th, 2020. In the meantime, those recent murmurings of an Aquaman sequel being in the works are unlikely to be “nixed” anytime soon.