James Wan: Aquaman director says he could have directed The Flash

Director James Wan is set to steer 2018’s solo Aquaman film, starring Jason Momoa, into theaters — but in an alternate universe, Wan could have directed another film in the DC Comics movie canon.

Speaking to Uproxx, Wan revealed he discussed directing both Aquaman and The Flash with Warner Bros. As Wan explained, he chose Aquaman because he thought it offered a bigger opportunity to create something new.

“The thing that ultimately pushed me more towards Aquaman is I love the possibility of creating a whole new world,” Wan said. “I’ve always wanted to do a world creation story and visually create this amazing, incredible, magical kingdom. And also, I love the fact that Aquaman is an underdog character. I love the fact that people like to make fun of him. [Laughs.] I feel the bar is a lot lower and I can have fun with him!”

Wan had previously teased his film earlier this year, saying it would be “fun.”

“I think Aquaman is a character that is, you know, a lot of people have made fun of over the years, and I just think it’s fun to actually show a really different, cool, badass side to this character, but at the same time, let’s not forget to have fun with it,” he said. Those comments came on the heels of criticism against DC Comics films like Batman v Superman, which had a darker tone compared to movies produced by Marvel and Disney.

Seth Grahame-Smith was originally hired to direct The Flash, but he left the project earlier this year and was recently replaced by Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa.