Though Aquaman is still a week away from reaching North American cinemas, things have been going pretty well for Arthur Curry’s solo debut so far and are expected to continue that way, meaning that further screen outings from Jason Momoa are looking very probable right now. But while the actor himself has said that he’s on board for a sequel, the question still remains of whether James Wan will come back to direct.
In an interview with variety, the Fast & Furious 7 helmsman only added to this uncertainty when he clarified that he’s under no obligation to return to the DCEU:
“This is my only one that I’ve signed up to do. We’ll see. Let’s not talk about sequels before this one’s even come out yet.”
Wan may not want to talk about a follow-up, but according to a report from earlier this month, his bosses at Warner Bros. have already started the conversation, and if the promising box office projections and record-breaking pre-sales of the first Aquaman movie are anything to go by, such sequel talks aren’t going to die down anytime soon.
Nonetheless, after spending these last couple of years working to get Arthur Curry and his underwater peers onto our screens, you could hardly blame Wan if he needed some time to recharge and focus on literally anything else. That being said, Wan seems very proud of the underwater world he’s created, and critics by and large seem fairly happy with it, too, so the filmmaker might well have some enthusiasm left over for the series.
Ultimately, Wan is in pretty much the same position that Patty Jenkins was after Wonder Woman, who was also under no obligation to direct a sequel. As you may know, Jenkins is back for Wonder Woman 1984 regardless, and if Aquaman does as well as expected when it hits theaters on December 21st, then Warner will likely be giving Wan a fair amount of incentive to return. Then again, the director turned down The Conjuring 3, so who knows, perhaps he’s just not in a sequel mood these days.