‘Aquaman’ Director James Wan Says Even Shooting Out of the Water Is ‘Super Complicated’
When you’re shooting a big-budget tentpole superhero movie, it’s going to be complicated. When you’re shooting a big-budget tentpole superhero movie, half of which is underwater, it’s going to be really complicated. James Wan’s Aquaman is currently shooting in Australia, and Wan himself says it’s not an easy shoot.
When The Hollywood Reporter chatted with Wan about the upcoming Annabelle: Creation, he also answered some questions about Aquaman — namely, how in the world he’s filming so much of this superhero movie underwater.
It’s a very technically challenging shoot to be on. 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. So it’s not an easy shoot — but hopefully it will pay off in spades down the line.
Despite the challenges, Wan and his crew are making sure to keep a positive attitude.
Positivity in any way is always a good thing. So yeah, I think it's great. I think when people are happy and excited, it helps the overall cause, you know?
We’ve seen bits of Aquaman’s watery antics in the Justice League trailer, but he’ll be even more extremely underwater in his solo movie.
Aquaman hits theaters December 21, 2018.