‘Aquaman 2’s Post-Credits Scene Is the Goofiest Entry in the DCEU

It’s been a long five years since 2018’s Aquaman hit theaters, where DC’s former punchline of a superhero turned into an unexpected box office juggernaut. Thanks to James Wan’s stylish direction and a charismatic performance by Jason Momoa, Aquaman grossed over $1 billion at the global box office, so naturally a sequel was quickly greenlit.

But like so many of us, Aquaman aged poorly over the past few years. With multiple production delays, reshoots, and the character assassination of star Amber Heard, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stumbled. The final death knell was Warner Bros. reboot of the DC extended universe, which quickly ushered out Zack Snyder’s dour franchise and replaced him with new DC Studios co-heads Peter Safran and James Gunn.

As the DCEU’s final entry, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is adrift and unconnected to the new DCU. And given its 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and lackluster box office tracking, the once-promising DCEU dies with a whimper.

Okay, but is there a post-credits scene?

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom features one mid-credits scene that comes after the main credits but before the crawl. And don’t expect to find any cool cameos or clues to DC’s future. The scene is a continuation of a joke from earlier in the film, where Aquaman tells half-brother and former king of Atlantis Orm (Patrick Wilson) about life on the surface.

While Arthur Curry walks in both worlds, Orm has spent his life in the ocean, so he knows little about land customs. To mess with him, Arthur tells Orm that cockroaches are a delicacy, and Orm eats one, finding it not so bad.

The mid-credits scene sees Orm in a diner ordering a hamburger and paying for it with a gold coin. He takes a bite of the burger and enjoys it. But then Orm sees a cockroach scuttling by, grabs it, and tosses it into his burger. He takes another bite, looking satisfied.

And that’s it, folks! No seed-planting special scene, no Batman cameo, and no “Aquaman will return.” Just Orm and his roach burger. It’s a silly and inconsequential ending to Aquaman’s time on the big screen.

(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)