What Aquaman Has In Common With Avatar And Lord Of The Rings, According To James Wan [Exclusive]

Right after the huge success of "Wonder Woman" but also the horrible, awful, franchise-ending "Justice League," the first "Aquaman" was a pleasant surprise. James Wan's second superhero movie ("Furious 7" features as many if not more acts of superheroism) felt like a fresh jolt of energy, featuring an octopus that plays drums, Julie Andrews as a monster, and the masterpiece that is Pitbull's cover of Toto's "Africa." This is a pure James Wan joint, one that features a terrifying horror scene with deep-sea monsters. And it was a bonafide hit, becoming the highest-grossing DCEU movie.

Before the DCEU officially ends with the release of "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," /Film's own Jacob Hall talked to director James Wan about the making of the film, and why Wan was never interested in making a realistic take on the character. "I had to embrace the quirkiest side of this world," Wan said. "I feel like it allows me as a filmmaker to do a lot more, to have fun with it."

He added, "I also want to show that in the world of Atlantis it can be magical as well, and it can be fun, it can be uplifting, it can be a world that makes you kind of go, 'I would love to have the ability to breathe underwater so that I can visit a place like Atlantis.' That was really my main mission statement on the first film."

Indeed, beyond the superheroes and the big action, the star of "Aquaman" is, well, Atlantis itself. This is a vast world unlike anything in a superhero movie, with its own history, rich lore, and breathtaking landscapes. It has more in common with Middle-earth and Pandora than Gotham or Metropolis.

Atlantis is incredible. From the moment we first see the full underwater metropolis, it is a visual marvel. There are enough visual details to paint a picture of an ancient and vast empire that has gone through several transformations over the centuries, without overwhelming the audience with exposition. The world of Atlantis is full of legends, monsters, internal conflict, and much more, whether Arthur Curry is on screen or not. It's these details that help make the underwater city feel like a lived-in civilization.

According to Wan, what makes Atlantis effective as a fictional place is that it feels alien, but is still very much of our world. There's a sense of place, even if it isn't real.

"The crazy thing is all those fantasy movies take place in a fantasy world, but ours takes place actually on Earth. It's on Earth, it's in the ocean," Wan said. "But that aspect of it allows me to kind of really lean further fantasy, and just embrace and make it feel like [...] we're on a whole different planet, when in reality technically our story takes place on Earth."

Yes. Atlantis is DC's answer to Middle-earth, which makes total sense. Why start with Jack Kirby's Fourth World or some other alien planet when you can have the same impact without leaving Earth? Besides, Peter Jackson did turn down the movie twice, meaning they were thinking of a fantasy director for this for years.