If you’ve laid eyes on Aquaman and its sweeping, eye-popping vistas, you’ll know that Warner Bros. and director James Wan delivered a fantasy epic the likes of which we’ve never seen before – not in the DC universe, at least.
Turns out that was the plan all along, as Peter Jackson, creative mind behind Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogy, recently admitted that he was approached about the Aquaman gig not once, but twice. Why, you ask? The Kiwi director doesn’t much like superhero movies, and chose to pass on Warner’s King of the Seven, allowing the standalone adventure to fall into the hands of James Wan, who was able to, ahem, conjure up quite the spectacle late last year.
Via Empire, Peter Jackson recounted the moment he became linked to Aquaman courtesy of former Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara:
He said, ‘Are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ‘No.’ Six months later: ‘Peter, are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ’No, Kevin, I already told you this’ I’m not a superhero guy. I read Tintin… Look, films are hard. I only want to make something that I have a deep passion for. I don’t really anticipate making another theatrical film for a year or two.
So, there you have it; had things panned out differently, we may have seen the Peter Jackson version of DC’s Aquaman. It would’ve made for a cinematic event, given the filmmaker’s experience in big-budget fantasy, but considering the runaway success of James Wan’s 2018 blockbuster – not only is a sequel on the cards, but Warner is committed to a spinoff movie set in the Trench, too – comic book movie fans can feel pretty damn satisfied with the way things panned out.
James Wan’s Aquaman is currently available on home video and all the usual digital platforms.