AQUAMAN -- Are We Starting Off The Right Way?

We’ve recently received some exciting clues about WB’s plan for its big screen DC franchises in the coming years. Nine movies are slated to come out from 2016 to 2020 following Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and we know many of them. Shazam. Justice League. Wonder Woman. Aquaman. Sandman. I’m pumped and you are too. I’d bet Cyborg, Man of Steel 2 and The Batman are in the pipeline too, though we likely won’t find out about films in 2018 and beyond for some time. Four years is a long time. Long. Freaking. Time. You might be married with 2 kids by then and laughing about how much time you wasted worrying about fictional characters flying around in tights. Okay, most of us won’t be married. But my thoughts on the eye roll inducing flag-planting by studios are for another day.



I have a problem with the fact that WB is going back to two very familiar writers in Beall and Johnstad to get Aquaman off the ground. On the one hand, Chris Terrio (pictured) is a familiar writer that WB loves dearly. He’s now been tasked with writing perhaps the biggest film Warner Bros. has ever taken on. Terrio is an Oscar winner with multiple scripts on the Black List and the respect of some of the best directors in town, including Ben Affleck and David O. Russell. He’s almost above these projects and is the kind of writer that Marvel, Fox and Sony certainly aren’t hiring for their superheroes. That has me very excited about Batman v. Superman and Justice League. Beall and Johnstad pale in comparison. Beall wrote a flaccid Gangster Squad script that never gave the brilliant cast assembled much to work with, as well as a Justice League script that was reportedly no good. We will never know that for sure, but his version was scrapped. [Added note: As user TheDudeRusty points out, Beall adapted his own book LA REX for Scott Rudin, making it to the Black List in 2009.] Johnstad wrote both 300 films and The Last Photograph for Zack Snyder. We all know about those 300 films. The latter project attracted the likes of Christian Bale and Sean Penn. It’s a wartime story set in Afghanistan that would probably be a massive departure stylistically from Snyder’s filmography at the time, so I was curious enough to get a hold of the script. What I read was bleak and draining with its feet firmly on the ground, but interesting enough. As you can imagine, it gives little insight into how Johnstad would tackle something as outlandish as Aquaman.

I want to be clear, again, there is a boatload of time between now and when Aquaman would need to go into production. For all we know, Johnstad and Beall are just being used to develop ideas, much like many of the junior Marvel Studios writers, before a more accomplished writer and/or director steps in. Maybe they are the Goyers to someone else’s Terrio. But is this really where we want to start these new solo franchises? I don’t want any of the individual franchises to become soulless schlock like WB’s Clash of the Titans. I enjoyed Momoa’s work in Games of Thrones and more recently in The Red Road. He has incredible physical charisma on screen and could change the perception of Aquaman. But he still has a lot to prove as an actor. Johnstad, Beall and Momoa don’t seem to be a trio that will demand the attention of a director with strong instincts and a clear vision for the project. I’m not an Aquaman fan (though I never bought into the notion that he was a joke). I’m certain these two writers aren’t either, nor are most writers in Hollywood. The bottom line is that whoever gets the jobs for kickstarting most of these second tier characters are undoubtedly going to have to do a ton of research into the characters. The only thing Johnstad and Beall have over many other, more talented candidates is familiarity with the studio system. Step outside of the bounds!


On a slightly unrelated note, I want to see someone like writer-director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) take on Cyborg. Maybe we can have a Patty Jenkins (Monster) or a Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones) direct Wonder Woman. Is that too on the nose? I don’t really give a damn, because they all first and foremost tell great human stories. And if we’re going to have 30 comic book movies leading the blockbuster charge in the next too-small timeframe, we might as well try being progressive. I realize it’s kind of silly to throw out specific names when we have little idea if they would even be interested in this kind of project. I’ve noticed some folks on other websites suggesting Nic Pizzolatto to be involved with Batman. That sounds great to me. But the guy actively despises superhero movies, so there’s no point in even entertaining the idea.

Kevin Feige is right about this: you can always surround a storyteller with people who can help fulfill his/her vision on the technical side if he/she lacks that kind of experience. That’s why Feige can take the guy who made Super and Slither and have him make a space opera like Guardians of the Galaxy. I just want WB to aim higher than they apparently are with Aquaman and to aim higher than their competition. Don’t get someone like Terrio and promptly return to the dregs of the studio. I'm not saying you need an Oscar winner for every project. Just stop recycling writers that repeatedly disappoint. If WB can hire two writers, they certainly have the money to reach higher. And they ought to have the confidence to reach further out after the mega success they had with Chris Nolan. The Aquaman franchise could tell a Shakespearean tale with an environmental bent and marvelous visuals. I would love that. I just don’t think hiring Beall or Johnstad is putting the right foot forward.