Why James Wan Returned to Direct Aquaman 2

Director James Wan revealed why he returned to direct Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Wan originally rose to fame directing horror films, ones that usually kicked off new franchises. The director had his first taste of blockbuster filmmaking with 2015’s Furious 7 before making his DCEU debut in 2018 with Aquaman. The Jason Momoa led film is the most successful DCEU film at the box office to date, netting over $1.1 billion. Following Momoa’s Arthur Curry after the events of 2017’s Justice League, the film sees him return to Atlantis to confront his half-brother Orm, played by Patrick Wilson.

By the end of Aquaman, Arthur rises to the throne of Atlantis with Mera (Amber Heard) by his side, but the film also sets up the foe for the sequel as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta sets his sights on revenge against Arthur. Little is truly known about the sequel save for what can be gleaned from the title, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, hinting at Necrus. Now that filming has kicked off in London, though, details have slowly begun to trickle out as Momoa, Heard, and the rest of the cast arrive in the UK to begin production on the film.

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With Wan also returning, the director explained to IGN why he came back for the sequel. He cited the fact that he doesn’t usually return to direct sequels as evidence why The Lost Kingdom is particularly important to him, saying that he felt the need to continue Arthur and Mera’s story after working on the first Aquaman. Wan also praises screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick for being able to find a story that was able to expand on the original film in addition to the underwater world building that allowed him to explore more of the strange kingdoms under the sea. Check out his thoughts below:

There’s a reason why I don’t make three movies in the same series. It’d be lucky to get me to make a sequel. And then after that, I just get bored. I want to do something different.

I would say the thing that really got me excited to come back to it is finding a story that I think is worthy and if not better than the first movie. And also, for me, really, when I come back to a sequel, whether it was for Insidious 2 or The Conjuring 2, and now Aquaman 2 is I helped shape and create these characters that I eventually fall in love with, and I feel like I’m not done with them yet. So I feel like I owe them one more story from me.

[I wanted to] continue the next chapter of Arthur Curry’s story, and Orm’s story, and Mera’s story, and Black Manta’s story. [And screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick found] a really cool story to bring all these characters back, and then growing them in a big way, and taking them to the next level or the next chapter of their lives.

Previously, Wan has only returned to direct two sequels – Insidious Chapter 2 and The Conjuring 2, both of which expanded on the world that the original films set up. It certainly seems like Aquaman 2 will be doing the same, allowing Arthur Curry to not only grow as a character, but to expand on his story in the DCEU as a whole. As of now, Arthur is one of the only founding members of the DCEU who has a film in the works alongside The Flash and the untitled Wonder Woman 3.

With the DCEU in flux, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will allow Wan to do some serious world building, both in terms of Arthur Curry’s underwater kingdom and the DCEU. Whether or not the film will connect to the wider franchise remains uncertain, but since it is coming after The Flash, it seems almost certain that there may be some wider implications for the DCEU somewhere within Aquaman’s next chapter.

Source: IGN

Key Release Dates
  • The Suicide Squad (2021)Release date: Aug 06, 2021
  • The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
  • DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
  • Black Adam (2022)Release date: Oct 21, 2022
  • The Flash (2023)Release date: Jun 23, 2023
  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)Release date: Mar 17, 2023
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
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