Summary
- Director James Wan defends reducing Amber Heard’s role in Aquaman 2, stating it was his original plan for the sequel, not a reaction to controversy.
- The sequel is intended to be a buddy comedy centered around Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson’s characters, unlike the first film’s action-adventure romantic comedy tone.
- Wan emphasizes that negative narratives about the film’s production are not the reality and urges people to focus on the truth rather than media stories.
Director James Wan has defended the decision to reduce Amber Heard‘s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The controversy surrounding Heard’s legal battles with Johnny Depp had placed a spotlight on the actress, with some fans demanding her removal from the film. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Wan clarified that this reduction was not a reactionary move. Instead, it was part of his original creative vision for the film. He pointed out that while Heard had mentioned that Warner Bros. cut some of her scenes in Aquaman 2, this was not due to any studio reluctance to include her character.
Rather, it was because the sequel was always planned to be a buddy comedy centered around Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and Patrick Wilson’s Orm. Wan’s approach was to make the first film more of an action-adventure romantic comedy and reserve the sequel for an outright buddy comedy, reminiscent of Tango & Cash.
“It’s fair that [Heard] said that [about the character being pared down], because she wasn’t in my head as I was working on this movie. Actors don’t necessarily know what we [directors] behind the scenes are thinking about. But this was always my plan. From the start, I pitched that the first film would be a ‘Romancing The Stone’-type thing — an action-adventure romantic comedy — while the second would be an outright buddy comedy. I wanted to do ‘Tango & Cash!'”
James Wan Teases a Retro Sci-Fi and Horror Experience in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
The follow-up to the smash hit DC adventure Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantas.
- Release Date
- December 25, 2023
- Director
- James Wan
- Cast
- Jason Momoa, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Superhero, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The upcoming Aquaman sequel promises a fresh adventure for Arthur Curry, who finds himself confronted by a new threat to his underwater kingdom. This unexpected challenge forces him to forge an alliance with a former foe. While the film is part of the larger DCEU, it’s designed to stand on its own, much like the comic book stories that have inspired it. The pressure for the sequel to perform exceptionally well stems from previous underperforming DCEU films, which has led to significant changes in its post-production phase.
However, in a recent interview with Empire Magazine, James Wan expressed his disagreement with the negative narrative surrounding the film’s production. He stressed that his personal experience during shooting did not align with the stories circulating in the media.
“I’ve had to learn to be more Zen in dealing with all the noise around me, for sure. I’m a pretty private person. I don’t get on social media and have fights, but it’s difficult because this narrative has emerged that is not the reality. The noise is fun to write about, and it gets clicks, but people don’t know the truth.”
Wan also previously teased that the film will offer an “old-school sci-fi and horror” experience, setting it apart from its predecessor.
“There was an element of horror in the first film. But this second movie definitely has more of that. That became the design foundation. The Lost Kingdom has a very retro, ‘60s horror look. We have this huge action set-piece where Arthur and Orm fight [Black Manta’s] henchmen, using the ‘Octobot’ – this mechanical squid thing. That was really fun to shoot.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to make its theatrical debut on December 20, 2023.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
