You know how it goes. A movie comes out, does well at the box office, and after some time has passed, the studio and director eventually come to terms on how the director will come back if the studio decides to greenlight a sequel. Such is the case with Aquaman. While Jason Momoa and director James Wan have both discussed potential ideas to explore in an Aquaman sequel, Wan revealed that he isn’t signed on for any follow-ups to Arthur Curry’s solo adventure just yet.
It makes sense. The movie has only just come out, and it hasn’t even been released in the United States yet. While Aquaman has already made big waves overseas and it would seem like a given that Wan, who will also have a hand in the Swamp Thing series on DC Universe, would come back for an Aquaman sequel, he revealed in a recent interview with Variety that, so far, he’s only signed on for the current film. He then stressed that let’s not talk about sequels yet when the first film hasn’t even been released worldwide just yet. Hard to argue with that.
Here, have a look at James Wan briefly discussing how the Aquaman question in the video below:
#Aquaman director James Wan says he hasn't yet signed on for any other films about the King of the Seven Seas https://t.co/a7Og507hlT pic.twitter.com/gIbwPq0cEi
— Variety (@Variety) December 13, 2018
If Aquaman turns into a critical and financial success, then it’s all but likely that James Wan would indeed be asked to return for a sequel. But he would have major clout and bargaining chips as well. After all, Patty Jenkins wasn’t immediately signed on to come back for Wonder Woman 1984. And looking at Marvel Studios, Scott Derrickson was only just recently announced that he’d be returning to direct the follow-up to Doctor Strange.
See, it’s all about the negotiation tactics. If the director delivers a successful product, then if they would like to come back, it’s likely that they would. And in James Wan’s case, given his history with Warner Bros. already combined with how well audiences are reacting to Aquaman, he could have some leverage if there are certain places that he and Jason Momoa want to take the story.
What do you think of all this? Would you want to see James Wan return to direct a potential Aquaman story? Let us know in the comments below.
Aquaman will swim into U.S. theaters on December 21, 2018.
Source: Variety