We recently learned that James Wan once tried pitching a reboot of the Blade series. However, he almost assumed control of a different superhero’s adventures. In a new interview with The New York Times, the director revealed that before signing on to helm this week’s Aquaman, he was actually given a choice between that film or The Flash.
Wan explained that he first expressed interest in Warner Bros. plans for a DC cinematic universe after directing The Conjuring for the studio in 2013. “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,’” related Wan. “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.”
RELATED: Director James Wan Once Pitched a Blade Reboot
Evidently, his decision was informed by the number of live-action go-rounds that each character had amassed over the years. “I felt The Flash had been done before,” said Wan. “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.’”
Although Aquaman does have sea monsters in it, the film hardly comes across as a horror movie. In fact, several critics have pointed out how vibrant it is compared to previous DC features. Meanwhile, The Flash continues to be stuck in development hell. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are apparently reworking the script and Ezra Miller is still on board to star. However, it’s been a while since there was any real progress in getting the film made.
Do you think James Wan made the right direction by choosing Aquaman over The Flash? Let us know in the comment section below!
