‘Aquaman’ Movie Updates: Director James Wan Excited to Change the Hero’s Underdog Stereotypes, Talks Choosing Film over ‘The Flash’

‘Aquaman’ director James Wan admitted that he was excited to change the hero’s underdog stereotype. He also revealed why he chose to helm the film over ‘The Flash’.

During an interview with CBR news, Wan expressed his enthusiasm over finally changing Aquaman’s reputation as a superhero underdog. He said, “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.”

Wan added, “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… 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.”

The telepathic ruler of Atlantis had been portrayed as an archetypal funny man in several publications and adaptations throughout pop culture history. He was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weslinger and debuted in DC’s More Fun Comics #73 published in 1941. Since then, he appeared on numerous adaptations including the animated series ‘The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure’ and ‘Super Friends’, where he was portrayed as a wholesome character with weaker super powers.

According to Sciencefiction.com, Wan was given the choice to direct the upcoming ‘Aquaman’ film as well as ‘The Flash’ live-action adaptation in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). He admitted that he jumped at the opportunity to direct ‘Aquaman’ since it would give him the chance to expand creativity as well as challenging stereotypes.

Wan said, “But the thing that ultimately pushed me more towards Aquaman is I love the possibility of creating a whole new world. 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… 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.”

‘Aquaman’ is an upcoming fantasy-adventure and action film scheduled to be released on July 17, 2018. It stars Jason Momoa as the titular superhero and Amber Heard as Mera. It is produced by Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder as well as production companies DC Comics, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros.

The film is intended as part of the DC’s media franchise and shared fictional universe, which includes previous releases such as ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. The latter grossed $872.56 million worldwide upon its release in March 2016.