'Aquaman 2' is "heavily inspired" by Mario Bava’s 'Planet of the Vampires'.

Director James Wan has revealed the 1965 Italian sci-fi horror was one of his biggest sources of inspiration for the sequel to the 2018 DC superhero flick.

In the movie, "a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants."

The filmmaker told Total Film magazine: "'Aquaman 2' is very heavily inspired by Planet of the Vampires. You can take the boy out of the horror but you can never take the horror out of the boy."

Wan explained that he didn't want to make the first film in the franchise "dark and heavy" because he wanted to ease people into the "very lurid, strange world", but he hasn't held back for 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'.

He said: “Well, the first movie took a lot of people by surprise, right?

“And that’s partially because they were not familiar with the comic book, which deals in this very lurid, strange world. People were taken aback that I didn’t throw all that stuff away and make a dark, heavy film. But I didn’t feel that would have been right for it. So with the second film, I feel it will be easier for people to accept where we go because I’ve already laid the foundation.“

Wan previously said that the flick will be "more serious" and "a little bit more relevant to the world we're living in today" than the previous movie.

The 'Conjuring' helmer said: "The second one is a little bit more serious, a little bit more relevant to the world we're living in today. That's where it wants to go."

He added that the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) will pay homage to his love of horror with some frightening moments but plans to save the big scares for spin-off 'The Trench'.

He said: "Just like the first movie had a touch of my horror sensibility in it, in regards to the 'Trench' sequence, I would say there will be a little bit of that in this next one.

"I think it's something that's a big part of who I am, and it just naturally comes out in these kinds of films.

"My love for the horror genre means that I just latch myself to these scenes and try to kind of give them a little bit more of my 'scary sauce' on them."

The movie is scheduled for release in December 2022 and sees Jason Momoa reprise his role as the titular character.