Aquaman Movie in Danger of Losing Director James Wan?

In all honesty, there wasn’t too much of a fan uproar earlier this week when it was announced that directorSeth Grahame-Smithhad bailed onThe Flash movie. But it sounds like there are more problems brewing at DC Comics and Warner Bros. In the wake of this departure comes news that fan-favorite directorJames Wanmight be the next to flee the DCEU compound.

Signed toThe Flashmovie since last October, writer and directorSeth Grahame-Smithhas cited ‘creative differences’ as his reason for leaving. Those differences have yet come to light. Similar circumstances surroundedWonder Womanlast year, whenMichelle MacLarenexited before shooting was set to start. She also claimed ‘creative differences’ had driven a wedge between her and the project. She was later replaced byPatty Jenkins, and shooting is about to wrap in Italy. So, as you can see, not all is lost when DC and WB lose a filmmaker.

Though, the latest rumor might hit a little harder than the previous two, as directorJames Wanhas built a loyal fan base having created theSawandInsidioushorror franchises. He’s also the man behindThe ConjuringandAnnabell, and he brought in ablockbusterhit with his sequelFurious 7. He is set to directorAquamannext, with the movie targeting a July, 2018 release date. Though, it sounds like that might not happen.

Birth.Movies.Deathhave sources closely embedded at the DC compound, and as they tell it, losingSeth Grahame-Smithas director ofThe Flashis only a tiny fraction of the trouble brewing at Warner Bros. No one involved withBatman V Supermanwere expecting the negative response and lackluster box office, with many executives now questioningZack Snyder’s vision forJustice League. And there is hesitation as the DCEU hurtles forward. There wasn’t much time to stop the train and set it right on the tracks, though.Justice League, which is now shooting in London, was set to go before cameras just mere days afterBatman V Supermanwas released in theaters. The studio was hard-pressed to course correct the ship.

Because everything was already in motion, it’s reported that Warner Bros. and DC had their hands tied. They didn’t want to removeZack SnyderfromJustice Leaguebecause they were worried that the bad press might worsen the box office receipts forDawn of Justice. This, apparently, led to multiple in-house fights betweenSnyder, his team and the WB executives. And it seems thatSnyderis currently working under an insane amount of pressure, which is why we haven’t heard much fromJustice Leagueduring its first stretch of principle photography.

While no exact details have been revealed in terms of the ‘creative differences’ that bubbled up during pre-production onThe Flash, those problems are said to have spilled over toAquaman. The DC sources close to the project claim thatJames Wanis suddenly feeling an enormous amount of ‘trepidation’ as he stumbles forward in a universe that is wobbly at best.

It is noted thatFurious 7was one of the director’s most challenging and difficult shoots. He lost his leading man in Paul Walker 2/3s of the way through shooting, and reportedly had quite a lot of difficulty from some of his cast and crew. He will soon be out promoting his two horror movies, withThe Conjuring 2opening in June, which he directed, andLights Outopening in July, which he produced. Both are expected to be huge hits. And both are housed at Warner Bros., where theAquaman movielives. So it will be interesting to see how the director and studio respond to this. It’s not likely that the studio will simply cut one of their best working relationship’s loose.

Sources claim thatAquamanmight get delayed to get the movie just right, but there is no telling how true that statement might be.Justice Leagueis still moving full steam ahead as we speak, and it will help set up and define the rest of the DC Movie Universe. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.Suicide Squadis next in the line-up, and arrives in theaters this August. Fan anticipation is quite high for this super villain adventure, and it might put DC back on the right course. Though, it doesn’t exactly fit into theJustice Leagueuniverse of heroes. How this will all shake out in the long run is anyone’s guess.