Aquaman 2 Director James Wan Confirms Sequel Will Have Another Touch of Horror

Director James Wan will inject another touch of horror in Aquaman 2 after pitting Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) against the depth-dwelling creatures of the Trench in Aquaman, saying its sequel won't lose Wan's "horror sensibility." The Saw and two-time Conjuring filmmaker included a "flash of a scary moment" with Aquaman's Trench attack, a sequence that inspired a "horror-tinged" spinoff produced by Wan, but the director wants to save the horrors of the deep for The Trench. For Aquaman 2, dated for December 2022, Wan will bring just a taste of that "scary sauce" to his superhero sequel.

"Just like the first movie had a touch of my horror sensibility in it, in regards to the Trench sequence, I would say there will be a little bit of that in this next one," Wan said when answering fan questions ahead of his appearance at DC FanDome. "I think it's something that's a big part of who I am, and it just naturally comes out in these kinds of films."

Horror can seep into a movie like Aquaman because the story "takes place in these underwater worlds that can be very scary," Wan said. "Naturally, my love for the horror genre means that I just latch myself to these scenes and try to kind of give them a little bit more of my 'scary sauce' on them."

Opening up about the scary sequence with ComicBook.com, the Insidious director explained the balance needed to realize an appropriately-horrific scene midway through his usually lighthearted adventure movie:

"I'm well aware of the movie that I was making, and I never think go darker in terms of visuals, but I didn't want to go darker in terms of tone if that makes sense," Wan said. "I feel like I can get away with it because they're sea monsters, and I can have it be a flash of a scary moment in there and have fun with that. But ultimately, I didn't want to do anything depressing with it."

Wan next appears at DC FanDome with Aquaman star Patrick Wilson, who portrays Arthur's half-brother Orm. The online-only event, to go live on August 22, features a roster of high-profile DC talent and will highlight upcoming DC Films, including Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, and The Batman.

Aquaman 2 is scheduled to open in theaters on December 16, 2022.