Aquaman director, James Wan, recently sat down with us and talked about the classic costume and how he gave it an origin story.
During our interview with the director, Wan was asked if he always wanted to be faithful to the comics version of the characters. He responded by saying that he wanted to but also talked about getting it right and making sense within the world they had created. He then talked about tying the traditional outfit to a more complicated hero’s journey and giving it a backstory as well:
I really wanted to be faithful to what it is we love about the comic costumes and the comic designs, but we did tons of redesigns to all the costumes. As cool as it is that people love this costume, we did tons of designs to try to get it right, make sure the scale looks right, make sure that it fits on Jason, and what is my version of the classic hero’s costume to make it look really cool. You know how like in the old days his costume was a big part of what made him look a bit goofy and silly (the big bright orange). In this one, I try to work it into a backstory and give an origin to the costume as well. So that when he finally puts on the hero’s outfit, there’s a hero’s journey to get to and he’s not just putting it on because we want him to wear it. There’s a story to it. Kym Barrett and I worked so hard to design everyone’s costume in the movie. All the costumes in the movie are so complicated to get right. Not only do we need them to look cool, pull inspiration from the ocean because you have a lot of seashell and coral inspiration to it, but also they have to work in the rigs as well that we use to float the actors.
From the sound of things, James Wan and company wanted to get these outfits right for the right reasons.
What do you all make of Aquaman’s outfit? Was James Wan right to give the character his more traditional outfit? Should they have stuck to the look that Zack Snyder and company made for him in Justice League? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Orm / Ocean Master, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Ludi Lin as Captain Murk, and Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry.
From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be… a king.
Aquaman will be released in theaters on December 21, 2018.
