'Aquaman' Director Explains Reasoning Behind Pitbull's 'Ocean To Ocean' Which Covers Toto's 'Africa'

Aquaman director James Wan has a response for critics baffled by his use of Pitbull's "Ocean to Ocean," a song that plays into a key scene in the film and covers portions of Toto's "Africa."

And that response is, basically, that he made the choice to incorporate that song because incorporating that song seemed like a fun thing to do.

"Putting the song in the sequence where Aquaman and Mera walk out of the water in slow motion, I felt: For f---'s sake, let's have fun with it! It's something out of Fast and Furious," Wann, who directed Furious 7, told Business Insider. "Pitbull was in there very early on. He was really excited to do something for the film. That sequence is very tongue-in-cheek, and we just wanted to have fun with it. And we wanted a cheeky song at that point of the movie. I just wasn't sure what song it was going to be."

The scene is one of the only instances of popular music in the film, rather than the score that provides backing for most of the movie's scenes, and so it sticks out a bit. That has led to a lot of viewers either loving or hating the sequence, and almost everybody talking about it after coming out of the movies.

Critics have been bullish on the movie for the most part, with a 67% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That is not enough to earn it "Certified Fresh" ratings like Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns, the two movies Aquaman is expected to overtake at the box office this weekend, but it is better than most of the DC films since Man of Steel.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, "Aquaman," starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be... a king.

Aquaman is directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa (Arthur/Aquaman), Amber Heard (Mera), Nicole Kidman (Queen Atlanna), Patrick Wilson (Orm/Ocean Master), Willem Dafoe (Nuidis Vulko), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Ludi Lin (Murk), Dolph Lundgren (King Nereus), Djimon Hounsou (The Fisherman King), Natalia Safran (Fisherman Queen), and Michael Beach (Jesse Kane).

Aquaman lands in theaters on Friday, Dec. 21.