James Wan Talks Approach to Aquaman’s Origin Story, Calls Character an “Underdog”

We’ve heard a few times now from James Wan on his vision for Aquaman, and now, the filmmaker again comments on the highly anticipated DC film. Speaking with MTV, Wan says that he saw a lot of potential in Aquaman; moreso than many other people. Wan see Aquaman as an “underdog,” and he wants to blow people away with his take on the character.

“As we all know, Aquaman is somewhat the butt of the joke in the superhero world,” says Wan. “There’s something cool about that. I love the idea of being the underdog, coming in with a take on this underdog character and completely blow people’s expectations away. Like, ‘Oh, you thought he was going to be a wimpy character? No no no.’ It’s going to be so cool.”

After a brief cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we’ll be more properly introduced to Aquaman in Justice League. His solo film will take place after the events of that movie, so this won’t be a straight-up origin film. However, that doesn’t mean Aquaman’s origin will be completely absent from the movie, as Wan says, “There’s Justice League that happens before it, so I have to be respectful to that. But in a lot of ways… it’s a continuation but there are origin elements as well — and that’s the story that I’m excited to tell.”

Are you excited to see James Wan’s take on the world of Aquaman?

Aquaman will hit theaters on July 27th, 2018. Jason Momoa and Amber Heard star.