‘Aquaman’ Reportedly Eyes ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ Director, Plus Karl Urban for Possible Villain

‘Aquaman’ does’t hit theaters until 2018, but we’ve already begun hearing early reports about the project, which stars Jason Momoa in the role he was basically born to play with that magnificent damn hair. Previously, it was reported that ‘Mud’ director Jeff Nichols was being eyed to helm the aquatic superhero flick, but it looks like WB has added another name to the mix: ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ director Noam Murro. And rumor has it they’ve also got their sights set on ‘Dredd’ star Karl Urban for a supporting role.

According to Latino-Review’s sources (which are usually pretty reliable), WB is considering Murro to direct the project, and he’d know a thing or two about water-related action, having recently delivered the surprisingly fun ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ (which was produced by Zack Snyder). Nichols was also previously rumored as a contender—he recently wrapped filming on ‘Midnight Special,’ his first major studio film, and apparently WB is a big fan of what he’s delivered.

WB is also apparently eyeing Urban for a mysterious supporting role, quite possibly the villain—but they’re waiting for ‘Star Trek 3’ to finish production before trying to snag the actor. According the report, Urban and WB are on pretty good terms with the studio producing his ‘Almost Human’ TV series with Bad Robot for FOX. Urban was also in the running at one point to play Batman.

While we still have a few years before ‘Aquaman’ hits the big screen, the aquatic hero will be introduced in ‘Batman vs. Superman,’ and WB will reportedly begin an aggressive push to introduce audiences to the very different world of the character leading up to his solo film.

‘Aquaman’ is scheduled to hit theaters on July 27, 2018, but you’ll see Momoa’s big screen debut as the hero when ‘Batman vs. Superman’ hits on March 25, 2016.