The Aquaman franchise looks to have a safe and sound future as the director James Wan gives positive updates on it. Despite the first movie being a huge success grossing a mammoth $1.1 billion the franchise centered on Arthur Curry and his Atlantis was not going through a good time. From Amber Heard’s controversy to the introduction of James Gunn’s DCU and poor test screening results, everything acted as major hindrances to the sequel of the 2018 movie.
Now the latest statements from James Wan suggest that the future of the Aquaman franchise can be better than we thought. It is said that the Jason Momoa franchise is quite well separated from the rest of the DCU and we might see more projects following the 2023 movie.
James Wan’s words on Aquaman’s future?
The Aquaman was released in 2018 and took no time in becoming the highest-grossing project in the pre-James Gunn DCU. It also established a sequel titled The Lost Kingdom. While the second movie was embroiled in several issues, James Gunn announced that the Jason Momoa movie along with The Flash will lead into the new DCU’s first movie Superman: Legacy.
According to a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, James Wan, the boss of both the Aquaman movies confirmed that the movie is made keeping in mind all the changes needed for it to fit in the new regime. He described it as a difficult process as there had to be numerous adjustments but also confirmed that the franchise is kept well separated from the rest of the DCU.
“I’ve had to make adjustments all along the way. The DCU has been through lots of different versions, and one of the things that was challenging about this film was keeping track of what’s going on. Fortunately, the Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world. “
This also assures the fans that the Aquaman franchise would not share any major connection with the existing SnyderVerse while trying to smoothly lead to the new era of DC. James Wan added:
“We’re going to many different underwater kingdoms that are not necessarily related to what’s happening with the other movies and characters, so we’re stand-alone in that respect. So I can just tell my story on its own without being affected too much, but at the same time, I have to be mindful of what’s been happening.”
The statements by The Conjuring director also point to the confirmation of Aquaman 3. On top of it, Jason Momoa has also stated that he expects his Aquaman in the new DCU. The possibility of a threequel is also there as James Gunn has repeatedly stated that the universe will get a soft reboot and not a complete makeover. But at the same time, Aquaman 2’s performance will also play a major role in this whole thing which has indeed raised some eyebrows.
Aquaman 2’s disastrous test screening response
A few months ago only, the makers organized a test screening for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and it raised several questions among the audiences. As reported by the Giant Freakin Robot, several viewers couldn’t even complete the movie and left midway. It was a massive blow to the movie after many fans called out the makers to remove Amber Heard from the project due to her legal controversies with her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
This negative response led to the studio working on more reshoots for the movie which has deviated a lot from its original release date. Even though James Wan promised that they have taken the sequel to the next level, the test screen reports didn’t say so. But on the contrary, the reshoots might also prove to be useful and we can hope to see a better outcome in the final cut.
In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Wan called the movie a fun action-fantasy adventure. Now it will be seen if the project starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman can replicate the success of its predecessor.
Aquaman and the Last Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
