After years of jokes, insults, and various other forms of ridicule, Aquaman will soon make his way to the silver screen in earnest. The DCEU has teased Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry consistently over the course of the last few years, and his 2018 solo film has become one of the most highly anticipated superhero movies slated to hit theaters in the near future. We still know very little about the upcoming standalone adventure, but director James Wan recently revealed that it will take ample inspiration from classic 1980s action movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as Romancing the Stone. He explained:
I kind of don't want to give too much away but know this -- the spirit that I'm going for is like a classic sort of swashbuckling action adventure, sort of high seas adventure story. It's ultimately a quest story in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Romancing the Stone.
During a recent conversation with ET about the King of Atlantis' upcoming solo movie, James Wan laid out his vision for the entire film. In terms of tone and style, he really wants to craft a film that harkens back to the classic action adventure movies from the 1980s. Citing Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as Romancing the Stone as his references, his plan is to make a "swashbuckling," globetrotting adventure story. After all, water covers 70% of the planet, so Aquaman can pretty much go wherever he wants.
I really have to address the fact that this comes as an enormous relief. We have not seen much from Arthur Curry in the DCEU, but most of his appearances have been incredibly dark, brooding scenes. However, taking inspiration from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone almost certainly guarantees that Aquaman will try to be an incredibly funny film, because those movies have become iconic for their seamless blend of thrills and laughs. Jokes about Arthur Curry talking to fish have persisted for years, and we expect that James Wan fully intends to lean headfirst into those jokes to provide the film's comic relief.
Although plenty of the film's finer details remain up in the air, it sounds like Aquaman will combine equal elements of nostalgia, adventure, and (most importantly) fun. That's a formula that Marvel has already tinkered with in films like Guardians of the Galaxy, so it's clearly a proven system. The best superhero movies in recent memory have consistently blurred genre lines and adapted very distinct filmmaking styles, and now it seems that Aquaman will be no different.
CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant details related to the upcoming release of Aquaman as more information become available. The King of Atlantis will make his formal debut in the DCEU when Justice League premieres on November 17, 2017, and he will take center stage when Aquaman hits theaters on July 27, 2018. Stay tuned for more details!
