Aquaman: James Wan Calls Underwater Sequences ‘Very Complex’

Aquaman director James Wan on underwater effects and casting Dolph Lundgren

Director James Wan is talking about the challenges inherent in filming Aquaman. In an interview with THR, Wan spoke about the difficulty of shooting a film that takes place largely underwater, and keeping the CGI to a minimum. “It’s a very technically challenging shoot to be on,” Wan told the site. “Working with water, and even the dry-for-wet sequences are very complex… Our equivalent of two people sitting around chatting in the underwater world is super complicated. You have to think about CG with the hair, and how their clothing moves, how are they floating, what kind of rig we put them on and all that stuff.” He said it was “not an easy shoot,” trying to keep as practical as possible.

Wan also spoke about the casting of Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, calling him a “strong actor.” “I don’t think anyone gives him enough credit for how serious he actually takes his craft. He’s taking it very seriously on this film.” He also said that his friend, director Mike Mendez’s praise of Dolph Lundgren was what put the idea in his head to cast him.

The Aquaman cast includes Jason Momoa as the titular King of Atlantis, with Amber Heard as his wife Mera, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Ludi Lin as Murk, Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman as Atlanna and Michael Beach as Jesse Kane.

Directed by James Wan from a script by Will Beall, Geoff Johns and Wan, the film is being produced by Peter Safran, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Rob Cowan, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

Aquaman will hit theaters December 21, 2018. Audiences will get to meet the character again quite a bit sooner than that, however, as Aquaman is a key member of the Justice League. Look for the superhero ensemble to hit the big screen November 17. What do you guys think of what James Wan said about the shoot? Tweet us @ComingSoonnet.