James Wan returns to helm the next ‘Aquaman’ movie with ‘Fast X’ star Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis.

THE BIG PICTURE

 James Wan credits the Fast and Furious franchise for teaching him about the importance of family, which he incorporates into Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
 Wan directed Furious 7, a significant chapter in the Fast series that dealt with the passing of Paul Walker, showcasing Wan’s ability to handle emotional and high-stakes projects.
 Following the success of the first Aquaman movie, Wan was brought back to direct the sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will see Arthur Curry facing off against an ancient evil and becoming a father. The movie premieres on December 20.

Atlantis isn’t the only universe where James Wan has put his abilities as a filmmaker to the test, with the director having left his stamp on a wide array of franchises throughout his career. While fast cars and heists are very different from a lost kingdom underwater, Wan has tried to use everything he learned with his first major blockbuster while working on other titles over the years. Collider’s Taylor Gates attended a special press preview of the trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, where Wan talked about how the Fast and Furious franchise has guided his creative process during more recent moments of his career:

“I learned about family from ‘Fast and Furious,’ you guys, so it’s coming into play in a big way. You can see a bit of that played into this in a big, big way. [Laughs] No, seriously — you know, the family aspect in this film was something that was very important for me. And you can have Vin to thank for that.”
Wan joined the Fast franchise after it was already a worldwide phenomenon, but the installment he was in charge of directing was a significant chapter in the story of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family. The filmmaker helmed Furious 7 as the biggest project of his career up until that point, and the sequel is known for directly dealing with the passing of Paul Walker, who played Brian O’Conner during the early years of the franchise. Since the actor prematurely passed away shortly before the film premiered in theaters, the world didn’t know how his loss would be handled in the movie.

The blockbuster sequel sent the character on his own way with an emotional farewell to the actor who had played him for many years, and it became clear that Wan was ready to focus on bigger projects moving forward. That’s when Warner Bros. decided that he would be a good choice for directing the first Aquaman movie after the character was originally introduced during the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With more than $1 billion earned at the worldwide box office, it was clear that the studio was more than happy to develop a sequel to Aquaman, bringing Wan back to the director’s chair.

What to Expect From ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom takes place after the events of the first movie, and every subsequent appearance Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) has had in other projects from the DC Extended Universe. While the plot for the upcoming sequel has been kept under wraps, the few details that have been revealed point to the brave hero squaring off against an ancient evil force that will be unleashed soon — on top of becoming a father. Arthur will need all the help he can get from his allies to survive his next adventure, while the entire DC franchise awaits its eventual reboot under the creative direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran.

You can watch the official trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom here, before the movie premieres in theaters on December 20.