The sequel to Warner Bros’ Aquaman faced a lot of controversies, including delay and rumors of reshoot after Amber Heard’s court trial. Because of this, the DC tentpole has been plagued with news of chaotic post-production days.
Ahead of the sequel’s trailer release, director James Wan addressed the reports circulating online, including James Gunn’s involvement in the project and the main focus of the plot now that the role of Mera in the franchise has been trimmed down.
James Wan Responds To Several Aquaman 2 Controversies
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Aquaman director James Wan said that he was not sure about the schedule of the film’s release, though he still prepared himself anyway since the project is not entirely linked to any of the previously released DC franchises. Wan said:
“The tricky thing early on was not knowing whether ‘Aquaman’ would come out first or come out after [‘The Flash’]. So, we just had to be prepared. At the end of the day, the best thing I would say about this movie is that it is not connected in any way to any of those films. That’s the bottom line.”
Wan also noted that even though James Gunn has taken over the job of overseeing all DC Studios movies, the director claimed Aquaman 2 is his responsibility. He stated:
“I’ve known James since way back, right? We’re horror guys, and so I’m definitely open to ideas. But, at the end of the day, this is my movie.”
He also mentioned that they had to adjust their shooting schedule due to the actors’ jam-packed agenda, and they had to work with who’s free at the moment:
“We have big actors in this movie, and everyone’s schedule is really hard. So, we had to break up our shooting schedule into sections. We’ll shoot a bit here now, because this actor’s available, and then we’ll do another shoot now because this guy’s available.”
Wan also addressed the controversy about Amber Heard’s part in the sequel, claiming her role in the second film has been “pared down” and her action sequences were “taken away.” The director said that the sequel was always meant to be about Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and his relationship with his villainous half-brother, Orm, played by Patrick Wilson. Wan explained:
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first ‘Aquaman’ was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie.”
It seems like fans are getting more bromance scenes in the second movie while Amber Heard’s role has been diminished due to her controversial divorce from Johnny Depp.
Will There Be Aquaman 3?
The sequel is yet to arrive in theaters, but James Wan has already responded to the questions regarding the third film. He admitted that they made the second installment open-ended so they could make another follow-up in case the opportunity came. He said in the same interview with EW:
“I think we’ve set up certain things in a good place in the second movie that you can definitely draw upon in a third. I don’t have any stories, but growing the characters is the biggest thing that I think the next Aquaman movie should be about.”
As for the potential third film’s plot, James Wan admitted that he still has no idea at the moment, and the project has taken so much of his life that he feels the need to have a long vacation.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20, 2023.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
