Upon being presented the choice of directing a movie based on either The Flash—a relatable guy who gleefully unleashes his superspeed powers to fight crime—or Aquaman—a guy who spends his time polishing a trident and talking to fish—most people would presumably choose the former. However, director James Wan (Furious 7, The Conjuring) chose the latter, basically because fewer people will admonish him if he screws it up.
In an interview with Uproxx, Wan said that Warner Bros. offered him the choice between the two heroes, and despite being a fan of The Flash, he decided to helm an Aquaman adventure because “the bar is a lot lower, and I can have fun with him. … I think people are a lot less precious with him than, let’s say, you were doing a Spider-Man or a Batman or whatever.” He added, “I love the fact that Aquaman is an underdog character. I love the fact that people like to make fun of him.” Wan also expressed that making an Aquaman film also means more freedom, noting, “I love the possibility of creating a whole new world. I’ve always wanted to do a world creation story and visually create this amazing, incredible, magical kingdom.”
So, there you have it: Wan wants to avoid as much fan bitching as possible and is also a pretender to James Cameron’s Sea Throne, making him an ideal choice to helm this project. Wan’s low-risk Aquaman opens July 27, 2018.