James Wan Wanted ‘Aquaman’ to be “Classic Action-Fantasy”

Filmmaker James Wan went into Warner Bros. Pictures feature film Aquaman with a desire to present the much-maligned hero in a more….heroic light. The fish-talkin’ JLA member has always been the butt of countless jokes about talking to whales, getting caught in plastic soda rings, etc.

Thankfully for fans of Aquaman, Wan’s vision does exactly that. Part live-action Atlantis: The Lost Empire, part technicolor comic book come to life, the resulting film starring Jason Momoa in the titular role is enjoyable and worth watching in the theater.

In a recent interview with our friend Jordan Hoffman for AMNY.com, Wan spoke a bit about Aquaman compared to other superhero films, Atlantean dry-cleaning, and practical in-camera effects:

AMNY: This superhero movie feels different.

James Wan: That was the goal, to avoid the current style and make a more classic action-fantasy. Aquaman is less familiar of a character, but we cut as much of the origin story as possible. It takes fine tuning; nobody likes movies that are too long.
AMNY: A lot of these costumes looked like real, tactile costumes, not CGI.

WAN: My background is low-budget horror. We do things practical and “in camera” as much as possible, then use digital tools after. We had an army of designers. I’ve long wanted to build a visual world from the nuts and bolts. It looks cool, but not comfortable to wear. Especially in the rigs that make the actors appear as if they were floating underwater.

AMNY: For people less familiar with the lore: Is there dry cleaning on Atlantis? How do they do their laundry?

WAN: They are so technologically advanced, it’s hard to say. Maybe there is wet cleaning?

The only real complaint we had about Aquaman was not as many fish puns as we were lead to believe.

The film is currently playing in theaters now, and enjoying the top spot at the box office.