James Wan Reveals Why He Chose To Direct AQUAMAN Instead Of THE FLASH
The Conjuring 2 director James Wan has revealed that Warner Bros. offered him the chance to helm one of two DC Comics adaptations, and explains here why he picked Aquaman over The Fastest Man Alive...
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Furious 7 and The Conjuring 2 director James Wan confirmed that he was talking to Warner Bros. about working on a DC Comics adaptation since the release of the first instalment of the latter franchise. Asked if he was always being eyed for Aquaman or if there were other characters in the mix, the filmmaker then revealed that he was actually given the choice between two members of the DC Films Universe. "It was, well, oh jeez, this would be a big tidbit: They asked me which of the two characters I’d be interested in and it was between The Flash and Aquaman." Asked why he chose the King of Atlantis over the Scarlet Speedster, Wan added: "This is how I weighed it: For me, we’ve seen various versions of The Flash. There’s a popular show on TV and there was a great one in the ‘90s. I loved that Flash!" Considering how popular the current TV series is, you can understand why he felt like that! However, that's not the only thing which affected his decision.
"The thing that ultimately pushed me more towards Aquaman is I love the possibility of creating a whole new world," Wan teased. "I’ve always wanted to do a world creation story and visually create this amazing, incredible, magical kingdom. And also, I love the fact that Aquaman is an underdog character. I love the fact that people like to make fun of him. [Laughs.] I feel the bar is a lot lower and I can have fun with him! Everyone makes fun of him! And I actually don’t mind that! What it allows me to do: I think people are a lot less precious with him than, let’s say, you were doing a Spider-Man or a Batman or whatever." Pushed for details on why that matters to him, Wan went on to explain why he's excited to deliver a fresh take on the hero. "I felt like it allows me the freedom to just tell the story of the character I wanted to tell. And I think what I proved for myself with Fast and Furious 7, how I took on this massive movie and I was able to overcome the tragedy that befell the production – I think it really proved to everyone I’m capable of doing more than just horror movies."
Despite the almost non-stop rumours about troubles behind the scenes at Warner Bros., it's clear that Wan is extremely passionate about delivering a truly great take on Aquaman. That will hopefully be enough to ensure that what promises to be a very difficult property to adapt will end up being something special, and it will be interesting to see how this on develops over the next couple of years.
Of course, with Zack Snyder set to introduce Atlantis in Justice League, it will be then that we get our first look at Aquaman's home and perhaps an idea of how the character's solo movie will pan out.