Warner has hired writers to pen two separate scripts for Aquaman, presumably starring Jason Momoa, reports THR. They’re developing the movie on a dual track, where two versions are written simultaneously so the studio can pick the best one and move forward immediately. Considering how many projects DC has coming up soon, the rush makes sense. We also can’t help but wonder if Warner hired a second writer because they were unsure of one of these guys, for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.
The two writers Warner hired are Kurt Johnstad and Will Beall. Johnstad has already worked with Aquaman fan Zack Snyder; he’s the writer of 300 and 300: Rise of an Empire. Beall, meanwhile, wrote Gangster Squad and has already worked on a draft of Justice League which was scrapped and rumored to be terrible. (To be fair, most of Warner’s problem with the script seemed to be their own clusterf*ck of last-minute changes and notes.) If Warner didn’t like Beall’s Justice League script, that might have given them more incentive to hire a second writer for a separate version. But the 300 guy? That’s your backup?
Anyway, if this doesn’t work out, or Jason Momoa drops out, they could always hire the Venture Bros writers and make it an animated comedy voiced once again by John DiMaggio. We’ll make our own Aquaman script, with blackjack and hookers! In fact, forget the script!