Things are looking promising according to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan when it comes to his latest film being the final movie in Warner Bros.' DCEU.
Jason Momoa's second solo Aquaman adventure has been given some added weight as it rounds out the current era of the DCEU storytelling, as Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn takes over to reboot the super-powered universe under DC Studios branding.
In the lead-up to Aquaman 2, the film has been in, what seems to be, a constant state of flux.
Cameos of legacy characters like Micheal Keaton and Ben Affleck's Betmen have been reported to be in the film. However, they were just as fast revealed to have been pulled from the film as well.
Aquaman 2 Is Able To Roll With the Punches
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan offered fans a promising update about the final movie in the DCEU.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Wan revealed that he has been "mak[ing] adjustments all along the way" on the film as the DC environment changes around it:
"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."
He added that "fortunately, the Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world," so he can "just tell [his] story on its own without being affected too much:"
"Fortunately, the 'Aquaman' universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world. 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 Aquaman filmmaker also touched on the looming threat of a Directors Guild of America (DGA) strike and if it will impact the release of Aquaman 2 at all:
"I hope to finish it up soon-ish. We have the DGA thing [contract negotiations] coming up next month, and so there’s just some stuff that we have to finish. It’s a big movie. It has a lot of visual effects and moving parts, but we’re moving in that direction, and I cannot wait for people to see it."
He remarked that Lost Kingdom will be "quite different from the first movie," tackling issues like climate change and being "a little bit more serious" than the previous movie:
"I think people are going to be excited to see that this movie is quite different from the first movie in terms of tone. It’s a little bit more serious, and we’re dealing with issues like climate change. We’re not afraid to lean into that in a big way, because the Aquaman comic book, even way back when, has always been environmentally conscious. He’s always been someone who’s fought to keep the ocean clean, and it feels more relevant in the world that we’re living in today. So this movie has something to talk about, but it’s still a fun action-fantasy movie."
Will Aquaman 2 Be a Success for DC?
It is promising to hear that the DCEU's final film has been able to adapt as the circumstances have changed around it.
Aquaman 2 was not originally pitched as the send-off of this era of Warner Bros. DC filmmaking, but that is what it is ultimately going to be.
And James Wan seems to be staying positive as he has had to think on his feet in the post-production process for this film. But that does not ultimately mean the movie is going to be a success.
It is not as though these changes have been minor. Recent reports indicated that "[DC has] completely changed the plot" of the film during the post-production process, which does not sound all too positive.
Plus, add in the fact that the movie has been described as "potentially one of the worst DCEU movies" by test screening audiences, and, despite what Wan has said, he supposedly "had a rough time" making the movie.
It has been hard for fans to get excited about DC films since James Gunn was announced to take over the franchise, and Aquaman 2 looks like it may not fare any better.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes to theaters on December 20.
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