James Wan Discusses AQUAMAN and Making Something Fun and Unexpected
I have never been a fan of Aquaman. He's just one of those superhero characters that I've never cared about or had interest in. Sorry Aquaman fans, but that's just how it is. However, I am a huge fan of director James Wan, and I'm actually kind of stoked that he is going to be the one who is developing the character's solo film. Wan has yet to let me down with any of his films, and even though Aquaman isn't my jam, I'm still pumped to see what he does with it.
Not long ago there was a rumor that the director was looking to drop out of the project, but that doesn't seem like the case at all as he seems genuinely excited to make the movie. During a recent interview with CBR, Wan talked a little bit about the inspiration behind the Aquaman film he's making and how he wants to give audiences something fun and unexpected. Here's what he had to say:
"I'm a big fan of what Geoff Johns did with his new take on 'Aquaman,' with the New 52. I think for the first time, we get to see Aquaman as a superhero that definitely isn't the butt of superhero jokes, right? I think that there's something very exciting about that. I actually do think there's something kind of fun, as well, to take a character where people don't quite know what to expect from him, or rather the expectation of him is quite low. I always say, it's very difficult when you're tackling something like 'Spider-Man' or 'Batman' that has been done so many times before. Whereas, it's actually really refreshing to take on something like 'Aquaman,' that no one has really seen before in this context, and make it your own."
One thing that will prove to be a challenge for Wan is shooting the film in water because the majority of the movie will most likely be set in the ocean. When asked how prepared he was for the task of shooting on or under water, Wan was humorously replied:
"I will answer that with this little anecdote from The Conjuring 2. We have a sequence in the movie where the set is flooded, it's waterlogged, and there's a lot of rain in this movie. Every time I'm out in the rain, and I'm in this sunken, flooded set, the only thing that's going through my brain is, 'F*ck, I have to put up with this for an entire movie. This is going to suck.' I'll leave it at that -- how's that?"
Whenever Wan talks about the movie, it sparks confidence and excitement because we know he's going to give us something unique that we've never seen before. The guy is a great filmmaker and storyteller and if anyone can bring a respectable Aquaman to the big screen, it's him.
Aquaman is set to be released on July 27th, 2018.