Much like ‘Wonder Woman’ we know that ‘Aquaman’ is set to be a stand-alone movie but unlike ‘Wonder Woman’ there won’t be a bookend of Bruce Wayne or any other cameo tying the film to the larger DC Cinematic Universe. Director James Wan (‘Furious 7’) knew from the outset that he didn’t want to tell a story that brought in other heroes or villains but really wanted to establish Arthur Curry as ‘Aquaman’ in a way which was glossed over in ‘Justice League.’
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown, audiences love standalone stories that build up their characters, and James Wan believes in that with how he is telling this story. While working with the studio, Wan knew that he had a specific tale in mind:
“I wanted to keep the story to the world of Aquaman and not have to worry about what other characters are doing in their films and how that would affect us. I just thought the simplest way was to keep it clean — keep it simple and let it be an Aquaman story.”
Now, the director didn’t plan to ignore that there was a greater world of heroes or villains already out there, they just weren’t the focus that he wanted to explore:
“I told them I understand and respect that its part of a bigger universe but at the end of the day I have to tell the story I want to tell, and I want to develop the character as well. It was something the studio was respectful about … .in my movie he starts off one way and becomes very different by the end. It’s a classic hero’s journey. I equate our story to The Sword and the Stone; it’s a very Arthurian story about a journey to becoming king.”
Comics are well known to give characters both larger stories as well as character-driven works so to have a focus on the individual hero of ‘Aquaman’ seemed like a wise choice after how ‘Justice League’ was received.
Are you glad that ‘Aquaman’ isn’t planning on being a cameo-heavy or name dropping film? Do you feel that James Wan is the right choice to bring Jason Momoa’s take on Arthur Curry to life? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
