When Warner Bros. announced its series of superhero movies that will follow Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the one that was instantly the most curious was Aquaman. As a character, Aquaman feels incredibly tricky to pull off on the big screen, let alone keeping the adaptation in line with Warner Bros.’ grounded, gritty tone. Jason Momoa was cast as the sea-faring hero, and we got our first preview of the DC Cinematic Universe’s approach by way of a first-look image when Batman v Superman was still in production. The character is certainly gritty looking, but still, executing a full Aquaman movie is going to be a difficult endeavor, and one that director James Wan—the filmmaker who recently made the jump from horror films like Saw and The Conjuring to blockbuster filmmaking with Furious 7—will be undertaking.

When Steve recently sat down with Charles Roven, one of the members of the DCCU Brain Trust and a producer on Aquaman, for an extended interview, Roven provided an update on Aquaman:

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“We’re very early days. We’re just starting with the screenplay. He’s making The Conjuring 2 now, so he’s had his hand in the creation of let’s just call it a working document from which to write. But he’s directing that film [and] he’s got his hand ever so slightly in the development, but he’s really gonna throw himself into it after he finishes shooting Conjuring 2. And we’re planning on it being his film after Conjuring 2. He is a serious Aquaman fan.”

Wan opted to return and helm the horror sequel The Conjuring 2 for Warner Bros. after the difficult production on Furious 7, but he quickly signed on to Aquaman as his first foray into the superhero realm. Roven praised Wan’s capabilities and spoke to how he fits in with Warner Bros.’ trend of hiring diverse, strong filmmakers for their superhero movies:

“That’s a perfect example—him and [David] Ayer, and Patty [Jenkins], they’re perfect examples of what I’m talking about, to bring people in. Fertile creative minds who can say, ‘Okay, we get the road map, now let’s talk about doing this or doing that.’ It’s fun to have that flexibility and yet commonality.”

For more from Steve’s lengthy chat with Roven, peruse the links below: