Here’s Why James Wan Chose ‘Aquaman’ Over ‘The Flash’
James Wanswims into the world of superheroes this week withAquaman, but things could’ve turned out very differently. According to Wan, Warner Bros. offered him the chance to make either anAquamanmovie, or a film aboutThe Flash. In Wan’s eyes, this was a no brainer:Aquamanall the way. As the filmmaker tells it, making a film about the Atlantean superhero gave him a chance to give audiences something they hadn’t seen before. More on the potential James WanThe Flashmovie below.
James Wan’sThe Flash? It could’ve happened! The current status of the feature film starring the speedster is unclear – last we heard,John Francis DaleyandJonathan Goldsteinwere in the running to direct. But at one point,Aquamandirector James Wan could’ve helmed the project. Speaking with theNew York Times, Wan confirmed that Warner Bros. offered him a shot at two different superhero films:AquamanorThe Flash:
“Having made ‘The Conjuring,’ I was part of the Warner Bros. family, and I knew they were doing their DC thing. I spoke with Kevin Tsujihara [the Warner Bros. chairman and chief executive] at a premiere and I said, ‘I’m interested in the properties that you have at DC.’ A few months later, I was in a general meeting with DC and they floated two properties that didn’t have filmmakers on board: the Flash and Aquaman.”
When it came time to pick one, Wan knew exactly what he wanted to do –Aquaman. Wan has a genre-film background, having helmedThe Conjuring,Insidiousand more, and felt thatAquamanhad plenty of genre-film elements he could mine. He also felt thatAquamanwould give him a chance to create something fresh for viewers. After all,The Flashhas already had two live-action TV shows, whereasAquamanhas remained illusive (a pilot for aSmallville-styleAquamanshow was filmed, but never picked up):
“I felt the Flash had been done before. It had been on TV twice at that point. The one that had not been done was Aquaman. I realized, wow, his character resides in this crazy, big world, and I could do something very interesting with it. I look up to people like Spielberg, Cameron, Lucas, John Carpenter. I’m a fan of genre filmmaking, naturally. So I thought I could make ‘Aquaman’ a genre film, meaning a horror monster movie. DC basically said, yes, you can make Aquaman versus sea monsters if that’s what you want.”
Based on theearly positive buzzswirling aroundAquaman, it looks like Wan made the right choice.
