Aquaman’s hunt for a screenwriter continues. When we last reported on the project’s screenplay development, we learned that Warner Bros. had Will Beall (Gangster Squad), Jeff Nichols (Mud), and Kurt Johnstad (300) each write a separate script, and all of those scripts were put on hold until the studio was ready to proceed. A couple months later, they hired Furious 7 director James Wan to helm them movie, but it looks like they’re still trying to get to a script they like.
THR reports that they’ve now brought in David Leslie Johnson, but the way he’s involved is unclear. They’re not sure if he’s developing a separate screenplay like the writers before him, or if he’s trying to streamline the project with Wan. I assume “streamline” in this case means making the previous drafts work together with Wan’s vision for the project.
Johnson previously worked with Wan on the script for The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, which Wan is currently directing. Johnson is also on good terms with the studio having worked on the screenplays for Wrath of the Titans and Red Riding Hood.
Unfortunately, this still doesn’t tell us much about their take on the character. We’ve seen from an image released via Zack Snyder that Aquaman looks deadly serious, but we don’t know how he’ll play into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice let alone his solo picture. Hopefully, Johnson and Wan can get together and come up with an interesting take on the character.
Aquaman will open in 2018.
