Aquaman: How will The Trench spinoff work without Amber Heard and Jason Momoa?

We already know that Aquaman is getting a spinoff featuring the Trench, and that is a horror film. But we have questions now that we know who won’t be in it.

With the amazing success of Aquaman at the box office, it came as no surprise when the studio greenlit a sequel. And while we were not surprised that they were also going to make a spinoff movie, we were a bit shocked to learn the Trench would be at the heart of the new film.

However, while we are totally okay with a Trench spinoff that is also a horror movie, we have a lot of questions now that we know for sure that Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Amber Heard’s Mera would not be part of the project, according to CBR.com. Even beyond these characters not being a part of the film, we have to wonder how exactly we are getting a full-on movie about characters that not only don’t speak, but that we only barely saw in Aquaman to begin with.

While the visuals for Aquaman were stunning and enough to make us want to watch the movie on repeat, that was not the main draw of the film. What pulled many of us in was the characters, and specifically Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry/Aquaman. Even as the movie was not a true origin story, this superhero was the reason we were in those seats at the theater. This was our chance to finally see this hero shine on the big screen.

And now, you are telling us that the man/superhero who gave life to the story isn’t even going to be a part of the spinoff? Maybe it’s just me, but I have to wonder who thought this was a good idea. Even if he just made a short cameo appearance, there has to be a way to tie these movies together without it just being the people of the Trench carrying the entirety of the film.

On top of this, we are also losing out on seeing more of Amber Heard’s Mera, which means that the two characters who helped to carry Aquaman and make the movie a success are completely sitting out of this one.

Not only does this mean we are getting a movie about characters that don’t speak, but we are going to be introduced to new underwater people that we aren’t fully invested in. And if we aren’t invested in at least one character, why should we give the Trench a chance?

I am not saying that a Trench horror movie might not be amazing. I am wondering how they are going to make this work without the stars that we care about. Because, really, we don’t know an individual Trench character, and at this point, there are no other characters carrying this story.

Obviously we have to wait to see what the producers and the studio have in store for the Trench spinoff, but for now, it feels like this is a movie that doesn’t have even a core to build on. (Yes I know the Trench themselves are the core, but at least for me, I am not invested in these people). Hopefully, the studio will be quick to give us new information so that we aren’t waiting and wondering how they are going to make this work.

Considering we are talking about characters from Aquaman that do not speak, and we really did not get to know, it should be interesting to see how they build up this particular story. Perhaps we will get the history of the Trench before they became these people who don’t really speak and live in the dark depths of the ocean. Or maybe it will be a story that takes place after Arthur Curry becomes king of Atlantis. Either way, we have our concerns, but we will wait to see what comes next.