Last week, directorJames Wanteased new details about his highly-anticipatedAquamanmovie, surprising many fans by comparing his approach to the classicadventure romancefrom the 1980s,Romancing the Stone, starringMichael DouglasandKathleen Turner. During a new interview, the filmmaker reiterated and clarified his approach to the relationship betweenJason Momoa’s title character andAmber Heard’s Mera. While there will most certainly be plenty of superhero elements at play,Aquamanwill also go in a whole new direction for the DCEU.
Many fans have criticized the first two entries in theDCEU,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, whereJason Momoa’s Aquaman made his debut, andSuicide Squadfor being too serious and devoid of much humor. It seems the studio is taking a much different approach withAquaman, asJames Wanreveals in an interview withBustlethat this “action-adventure-romance” angle will allow him to have much more fun with his actors, giving them a relationship in tune to the one carried out inRomancing the Stone.
“I really want to get the classicaction-adventure-romance aspect through that, and I think that’s kind of fun. It starts off initially with them not quite clicking with each other. But then as the story progresses as they learn to try and work together, they get closer and closer. I think those stories are always such a great place for a filmmaker like myself to have fun with my actors… I think that dynamic will be really interesting between the two. Amber’s character is super strong, she’s very powerful as well. You don’t wanna mess with her. I think Amber will bring that sense of strength, but at the same time, we also want someone who has a sort of feminine quality to her as well. She’s a bit of a contrast to Momoa, who’s more of a muscular machine almost.”
It was also reported in August that the villain for thisAquamanadventure will beBlack Manta, who hasn’t been cast yet, althoughMichael K. Williamshas expressed his interest in playing the role. Production is scheduled to begin next summer, with Warner Bros. already setting a August 10, 2025 release date. Here’s whatJames Wanhad to say, elaborating further on how powerfulAmber Heard’s Mera will be.
“I think that dynamic will be really interesting between the two. Amber’s character is super strong, she’s very powerful as well. You don’t wanna mess with her. I think Amber will bring that sense of strength, but at the same time, we also want someone who has a sort of feminine quality to her as well. She’s a bit of a contrast to Momoa, who’s more of a muscular machine almost.”
There had been rumors thatAmber Heardwas going to be fired by Warner Bros., due to her divorce proceedings with ex-husbandJohnny Depp. Those rumors were put to rest earlier this month whenJustice LeaguedirectorZack Snydershowcased the first look photo ofAmber Heardin costume as Mera. Hopefully we’ll start hearing more about additional casting forAquamanin the near future as we get closer to production starting net summer.
