James Wan Eyed for "Aquaman"

The Furious 7 director would join Jason Momoa for the DCCU.

Story by Matt Cummings

Director James Wan has scored big in recent years, moving effortless through The Conjuring and Insidious franchises with relative ease. His most recent production - Furious 7 - has already roared to an amazing $180m, vaulting him into the spotlight with his quick action edits and ability to navigate a nearly impossible shooting schedule. Now, he could be on his way to the deep ocean.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wan is being pursued by Warner Bros. to direct Aquaman, featuring the classic titular character. No official offer has been made, but the studio appears to have started preliminary talks. Actor Jason Momoa is already signed to star as the lead and will supposedly make an appearance in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Justice Leaguer will star in several of Warners' superhero films, including the BvS two-parter.

Competing scripts are being developed, courtesy of Will Beall and Kurt Johnstad. But the project faces a serious challenge: no one has been tapped to direct the followup to Furious 7, which has already crossed $500 million worldwide in less than one week. Universal holds the contract to extend Wan to the follow up if they wish, which they could exercise, putting Aquaman out of reach of Wan. In addition, he is prepping The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, which could make any chance Warner has to bring him on even more limited.

However, there's one much larger challenge: making a movie that celebrates the character while making it a financially viably venture. Despite Aquaman being an original Justice Leaguer, the character needs a serious makeover and suffers from a less than stellar reputation. Although that perception is changing, Wan or any other director for that matter will have their hands full in changing public perception.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives in theaters on March 25th, 2016 and Aquaman on July 27th, 2018.

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