Warner Bros. chairman, Toby Emmerich, recently sat down for an interview with Variety where he discussed the recent successes the studio has had as well as offering a look ahead at upcoming movie projects. One of the movies Emmerich discussed was indeed, the upcoming superhero movie, James Wan’s Aquaman.
Emmerich had nothing but glowing praise for the upcoming DC movie and was really impressed by Wan’s work so far. He had this to say about Aquaman:
“It’s not too hot or too cold — [Wan] struck a great balance between fun and jeopardy, edge and wonder, comedy, and tragedy.”
One could note that Emmerich used these specific words to describe the film for a reason. Up to this point, many of the criticisms lobbed towards DC movies is that they have been too dark and devoid of comedy and light heartedness that could really serve to balance the overall film. It’s fair to say that the studio has definitely been listening to critics and fans alike as these films continue to be developed.
Emmerich also touched on the fact that Aquaman will delight viewers once they are able to see it for themselves and also references what another hit DC movie did in the not too distant past. He had this to add on Aquaman:
“James [Wan] created a totally original underwater universe. Just as Patty Jenkins did with Themyscira. James’ Atlantis is cool and compelling — unlike any world we’ve seen on film before, in a superhero movie or any other.”
Something to keep in mind while reading the full interview: It seems like DC Films are just not on the front burner for Warner Bros. If you look at the whole interview with Variety, Emmerich seems more focused on new IPs doing well at the box office rather than relying heavily on superhero movies. The recent successes of Crazy Rich Asians and The Meg have really helped the studio’s bottom line recently and seem more like sure things than DC movies (I hate to say).
WB has the DC and the Harry Potter franchises to dig into for content but with Aquaman and the Fantastic Beasts movies coming out later this year, their performances will determine just how strong these franchise will be moving forward. For years, fans have speculated that the DCEU needs a reboot and if Aquaman doesn’t do well, those voices will become louder and you might see more of a fading away rather than a hard reboot.
