Not long ago a report surfaced that the main villain in the upcoming James Wan directed Aquaman film would be one of his more popular rogues, specifically the vengeance-driven Black Manta.

Now that the news has circulated a bit around the interwebs, the Director was approached about the news by SlashFilm, where they asked why he chose Manta as the primary villain. Wan didn't offer a confirmation on Manta's appearance and genuinely seemed surprised that the information was out there.

“I want to know where Wrap got that piece of news from,” Wan laughed. “Come on, I can’t talk about this.”

No one expected Wan to confirm it really, but when pushed further about it, he clamped down.

“I’m not saying anything,” Wan said. “No comment is my comment.”

Wan was also asked about the flow of information between Directors and films, and whether he gets updates from the other projects, which would include Justice League, Wonder Woman, and The Flash.

“It’s like the CIA,” Wan said. “I’m on a need-to-know basis and only if I need to know.”

In many ways Black Manta is to Aquaman what Lex Luthor is to Superman or Joker is to Batman, and it wouldn't be a reach to expect him to debut in the Aquaman solo film. Even without being confirmed, that hasn't stopped some from throwing their names into the ring, which includes actor Michael K Williams (The Wire) after fans suggested him for the part.

There are other things we'd love to see in Wan's Aquaman, but Black Manta is certainly high on the list. Aquaman rises into theaters on July 27th, 2018.