Aquaman 2 made it through the DC changes relatively unscathed

The transition from one version of the DC Cinematic Universe to a new one hasn’t been entirely smooth, for various reasons. Right now we’re stuck in an in-between phase, running through a slate of releases planned before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over. It’s not entirely clear how these films will fit into the new DCU, but the ambiguity might have worked in James Wan’s favor while making Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

“I’ve had to make adjustments all along the way. The DCU has been through lots of different versions, and one of the things that was challenging about this film was keeping track of what’s going on,” the filmmaker explains to The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview. “Fortunately, the Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world. We’re going to many different underwater kingdoms that are not necessarily related to what’s happening with the other movies and characters, so we’re stand-alone in that respect. So I can just tell my story on its own without being affected too much, but at the same time, I have to be mindful of what’s been happening.”

In other words, the story didn’t change too much, even if the behind-the-scenes situation did. Wan says he hopes “to finish it up soon-ish” (with an eye on the Directors Guild of America contract expiring at the end of June). “I think people are going to be excited to see that this movie is quite different from the first movie in terms of tone,” he teases. “It’s a little bit more serious, and we’re dealing with issues like climate change.”

The director tells THR, “We’re not afraid to lean into that in a big way, because the Aquaman comic book, even way back when, has always been environmentally conscious. He’s always been someone who’s fought to keep the ocean clean, and it feels more relevant in the world that we’re living in today. So this movie has something to talk about, but it’s still a fun action-fantasy movie.” As the director of the highest-grossing DCU movie to date, Wan probably has the leverage to do whatever he wants.