James Wan Talks “Super Complicated” Shoot For ‘Aquaman’

There are few things which make a Hollywood studio more nervous than a production which involves a lot of filming on, in, or around water. Aside from the obvious over-budget example of “Waterworld,” it’s generally tricky to deal with a lot of water, winds up costing more than expected, and tends to be an all around headache. When Warner Bros. and DC Films first announced “Aquaman,” many wondered if they were walking down a perilous path. And while nothing disastrous has happened, it’s not a surprise to learn filming is no walk in the park.

THR caught up with director James Wan, and he revealed the production is predictably challenging, but only made moreso because he wants to avoid using digital effects whenever possible.

READ MORE: James Wan Explains Why He Chose ‘Aquaman’ Over ‘The Flash’

“It’s a very technically challenging shoot to be on,” Wan said. “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. ”

“[Trying to use practical effects] makes it very difficult and time-sucking and time-challenging to do all of this,” he added. “So it’s not an easy shoot — but hopefully it will pay off in spades down the line.”

One has to admire Wan for at least not taking the easy road of just throwing in a bunch of digital effects in post-production, and we certainly hope he crafts something a bit more visually appealing than the rest of the DC offerings to date.

Wan has plenty of time ahead of him as “Aquaman” doesn’t open until December 21, 2018.