You have to feel for the various directors making DC Extended Universe movies. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to be the home run that got the cinematic universe off to a hot start, but instead it was bunt to first, at best. Suddenly there’s a lot more pressure on David Ayer (Suicide Squad), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) and James Wan (Aquaman) to keep this leaky boat afloat. Some, like previous Flash director Seth Grahame-Smith, have outright jumped ship.
But Wan is seemingly here to stay, and expressed sympathy when asked by an Italian outlet about Batman v Superman‘s chilly reception:
“Listen, I think it’s a world that is so difficult to control, and always expectations of fans are out of this world, right? No pun intended. I know how hard it is, from making Conjuring 2, how much anticipation there is just from the first movie. I think you do the best you can, and tell the best story you can.”
In the video above, you can definitely hear the concern in Wan’s voice, although it’s not like he hasn’t had his own ups and downs. As the creator-producer of the Saw series, he’s certainly well acquainted with movies that make audiences happy, yet get trashed by critics. Really, James Wan is more well-prepared than anybody to survive the slings and arrows of the DC Extended Universe.
That said, while Wan understands what Zack Snyder has been through, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be repeating Snyder’s mistakes. According to Wan, Snyder is being very respectful of his choices, and Aquaman will have quite a different tone from Batman v Superman:
“[Aquaman] won’t be very dark. It is at the bottom of the ocean, so I’ll use a lot of light!”
Well, that’s good to know at least. Aquaman is scheduled to swim into theaters June 27, 2018.
(Via Comic Book)
