We expect superhero movies to be riddled with drama, but the alleged behind-the-scenes antics on “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” are a (sea)horse of a different color. Director James Wan has now addressed the rumors of endless reshoots and on-set kerfuffles.
“We probably did seven or eight days [of reshoots],” Wan told Empire Magazine. “Nothing for a movie of this size. It was just spread out because it’s so hard to get your actors back once you’ve finished the initial shoot.”
This isn’t the first time Wan has addressed reshoot rumors either. “We have big actors in this movie, and everyone’s schedule is really hard,” he told Entertainment Weekly last month. “So, we had to break up our shooting schedule into sections. We’ll shoot a bit here now, because this actor’s available, and then we’ll do another shoot now, because this guy’s available. People are like, ‘Oh, they’re doing a whole bunch of different shoots!’ No. If we actually combined them all together, it’s actually not that many number of days at all.”
Even if the number of reshoots was high. Wan is quick to remind everyone that “I built an entire franchise from a reshoot!” he said, referring to “The Nun” films. Since the main character didn’t come around until some last-minute additional photography on “The Conjuring 2.” “I’m not the kind of person that says, ‘This movie has to turn out exactly how I planned it on day one.’ Your art will never be organic if you’re locked into that mentality.”
Basically, reworking the project shouldn’t be considered the kiss of death that it often is.
As for all the other hurdles surrounding “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” “I’ve had to learn to be more Zen in dealing with all the noise around me, for sure,” said Wan. “I’m a pretty private person. I don’t get on social media and have fights, but it’s difficult because this narrative has emerged that is not the reality. The noise is fun to write about, and it gets clicks, but people don’t know the truth.”
Empire frames these comments to be about the shake-up of James Gunn and Peter Safran, being named co-heads of the production arm of DC Studios. This could also be taken as addressing claims made by Amber Heard via notes from her therapist, that were released after her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp. These notes alleged things like ex-boyfriend Elon Musk preventing Wan and Warner Bros. from firing her after the first film. To accusations that the director was harsh with her and that co-star Jason Mamoa showed up drunk.
As for the changes in DC Studio’s leadership, “Look, I’m a collaborative filmmaker — I welcome people’s thoughts and opinions,” Wan says. “But ultimately, I feel I have more than proven myself. So, it was like: ‘This is the movie I want to make.’”
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is set to open in theaters on December 20th, 2023.
