First look at Aquaman 2 teases monsters, Black Manta, and Jason Momoa riding a giant seahorse

Finally, the first Aquaman 2 teaser is here – and it sees Jason Momoa ride a giant seahorse using an octopus saddle, because of course it does. We wouldn't expect anything less from the underwater DC sequel...

The main purpose of the promo, which you can watch above, is to alert fans to the fact that the official trailer is set to make a splash online on Thursday (September 14), but that doesn't mean there's not plenty of interesting stuff in the 30-second clip. We get glimpses of the titular hero's baddie brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), as he wrestles with a tentacled machine, and Arthur's mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) getting in on the action, too. 

It also reintroduces Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's villain Black Manta, who vows to "kill Aquaman and destroy everything he holds dear". That's no empty promise, either, as the next shot shows Arthur staring wide-eyed as his coastal childhood home burns down. An epic moment later on sees Aquaman attempt to get his revenge, though, as he strikes Black Manta with his glowing trident. (Have we made it clear yet that we think this film looks great?)

Notable absences from the first look include Dolph Lundgren, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, and Amber Heard, who is set to return as Mera in the fantasy follow-up – though we're sure at least some of those will show up in the longer version later this week. Instead, we get treated to a bunch of horrific-looking sea creatures, which is hardly surprising given that horror-loving filmmaker James Wan is once again in the director's chair.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases in theaters on December 20. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.