James Wan on the uniqueness of Aquaman’s world

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Although Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe hasn't got off to the thrilling start that they were hoping it would, there's still plenty to look forward to in the future, including James Wan's AQUAMAN. The character, played by Jason Momoa, made a brief cameo in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE and will also appear in Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE before finally taking center stage in AQUAMAN. While speaking with CinemaBlend, Wan discussed just what drew him into Arthur Curry's world.

The uniqueness of the Aquaman world. There are so many superhero movies now; I don’t want to make a superhero movie now for the sake of doing it, but there’s something unique to the world of Aquaman. There’s a reason why they’ve never made a movie about this until now, because technology has never allowed us to tackle something this complicated. And so because of that it feels like something different, and that uniqueness is what I’m excited about.

Although James Wan is primarily known for his work in the horror genre, he recently made a mark in the world of blockbusters with the enormously successful FURIOUS 7. Whether AQUAMAN will be even bigger than that film remains to be seen, but either way, it will be quite the departure from Wan's usual fare. Another aspect of AQUAMAN's world which greatly appeals to James Wan are the characters which make it up, particularly the villains. Wan wouldn't reveal which villains he plans on using in the film, but he did say that they're "super cool" and "very larger than life, but they're unique."

In the wake of the reception to BATMAN V SUPERMAN, Warner Bros. have been doing some restructuring behind the scenes in order to get things back on track. However, James Wan cautions that it's not nearly as dramatic as the press is making it out, at least from his perspective.

To be honest, it’s not as dramatic as the press is making it out to be – from what I’m seeing. And right now I’m seeing everything as more an outsider looking into this box. So from that perspective, it’s really cool that it’s not crazy, crazy dramatic. I think it’s great. Geoff Johns is super talented, super smart. Part of what got me excited about the Aquaman character is his re-envisioning of Aquaman, the character, with The New 52. And that’s super exciting. And I’m working very closely with him, and I want to work with him very closely to shape the story that I want to tell.

AQUAMAN is set for a July 27, 2018 release.