'Aquaman' to Be Like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' Meets 'Romancing the Stone,' Says Director

What sort of movie will Aquaman prove to be? The individual elements sound intriguing. Jason Momoa proved his action credentials on TV's Game of Thrones as well as the new version of Conan the Barbarian, so he sounds like a splendid selection to be Aquaman.

Amber Heard has appeared in a variety of comic and dramatic roles over her career and is a great choice as Mera, Queen of Atlantis, while the wonderfully versatile Willem Dafoe will undoubtedly bring some of his trademark edge to Vulko, an advisor to Aquaman. But what does director James Wan have in mind?

Wan, of course, is best known as the director of horror movies like Insidious and The Conjuring 2. Yet he also made the terrific crime thriller Death Sentence as well as the blockbuster action sequel Furious 7. When he came on board to direct the project last year, he developed a detailed treatment with DC's Geoff Johns and since then they both have worked with Will Beall, the latter of whom is actually writing the screenplay.

Back in March, Wan spoke about his intentions: "Aquaman is a character that a lot of people have made fun of over the years and I just think it's fun to actually show a really different, cool, badass side to this character, but at the same time, let's not forget to have fun with it."

Over the past few months, Wan has clearly fine-tuned what his approach will be, telling Entertainment Tonight (via Coming Soon): "The spirit that I’m going for is like a classic sort of swashbuckling action adventure, sort of high-seas adventure story. It’s ultimately a quest story in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Romancing the Stone.”

Those are great, fun adventure movies and gives us an even better idea of what Wan has in mind. The setting should also help to distinguish it from other superhero movies. Momoa and Heard will appear together in Justice League, due for release on November 17, 2017, followed by Aquaman, which will open in theaters on July 27, 2018.