Aquaman Hooks Furious 7's James Wan To Direct

Aquaman’s solo adventure is years away from hitting theaters, but DC and Warner Bros are already full swing into assembling the film’s creative talent. Last year, Jason Momoa was cast as DC’s King of Atlantis, and over the last several months, different names have been dropped as candidates to direct the project – including Mud’s Jeff Nichols. Well, the search for someone to fill the director’s chair is finished, as Warner Bros has chosen Furious 7’s James Wan for the job.

The Wrap is reporting that Wan has signed a deal to helm 2018’s Aquaman. Although the article doesn’t give any details on what the film will be about it, does describe the titular character as positioned "between a surface world constantly ravaging the sea and Atlanteans looking to lash out in revolt" - though he is still committed to protecting the entire world. Wan’s duties will also include giving input on Kurt Johnstad’s script. Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Charles Groven will serve as producers.

James Wan, who is well known for directing horror films like Saw and Dead Silence, just came off the success of Furious 7, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. Since it was released in May, Furious 7 has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and earned many positive reviews. It’s unclear whether Wan has been looked at to helm 2017’s Furious 8, but now that he is directing Aquaman, that might not fit into his schedule. Wan’s next project is a sequel to his 2013 film The Conjuring, and after he’s done with Aquaman, he’ll direct Sony’s live-action Robotech movie.

Although there’s a long wait ahead for Aquaman, fans can look forward to the underwater hero making his cinematic debut next year in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as being one of the leads in the Justice League films. We got out first image of Momoa’s Aquaman from director Zack Snyder earlier this year (seen above), and one can assume that his appearance in his solo movie will be similar to how he looks in the 2016 blockbuster.

Previous Aquaman plot rumors have included appearances from his love interest Mera, enemies Black Manta and Orm (his half-brother, a.k.a. Ocean Master), and The Trench, a race of cannibalistic creatures from the ocean floor. It was also reported at one point that Karl Urban being looked at to play the main villain. Created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris in 1941, Aquaman’s powers include breathing underwater, being able to mentally control all sea life and swimming at incredible speeds - not to mention superhuman strength and durability.

You can catch Aquaman in theaters on July 27, 2018.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.