James Wan is someone who knows a thing or two about shared universes, between his work for Warner-DC and his Conjuring movies. More than that, horror is a big part of what he does, so it was no surprise when Warner announced they are working on a spin-off of Aquaman in that genre centering on the treacherous realm of the Trench.
Wan, of course, heard about the tentative plans and had something to say about them. In a Twitter exchange with film critic Scott Mendelson, who writes for Forbes and pointed out the parallel between the Conjuring-verse model and Aquaman begetting a Trench movie, Wan responded.
During the early stages of preproduction, I fell in love with the Trench and its designs… and secretly hoped to explore this world further/more. (Now, I’m not confirming or denying this project 😉
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) February 9, 2019
Though he is being coy, and probably a little sarcastic with that last remark, Batman News claims the Trench movie is happening and Wan is expected to produce with the help of Peter Safran (producer of Wan’s Conjuring films as well as Aquaman and Shazam!). Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald (scribes of a thriller on a submarine called The Volos) are probably the ones writing it.
They also remind us anything can happen in the interim; movies are slated and canceled all the time. Such has been the case for the DC Extended Universe. Any spinoff could also wind up having a home release, a common outcome with the movie business being what it is today.
Wan did tease the idea that the film is more than likely happening stating, “nothing is accidental.”
Nothing is accidental.
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) February 9, 2019
Wan would go on to reiterate that “Aquaman was always about building a bigger, unique world within itself. There are many adventures within the Seven Seas.”
Thank You. What I do in my little corner doesn’t affect other projects from getting made.
Aquaman was always about building a bigger, unique world within itself. There are many adventures within the Seven Seas.
(Now, I’m not saying that this is actually happening) https://t.co/HIypZQq4oa
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) February 12, 2019
Netflix or DC Universe might get exclusive distribution rights. The Trench is alleged to have a smaller budget like Wan’s other projects. One of those, 2015’s [easyazon_link identifier=”B076B7CZ28″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Demonic[/easyazon_link], received minor hype before landing on streaming.
We stated in our Aquaman review the Trench, a concept originating with Geoff Johns and the New 52, was a world and idea deep enough to occupy its own movie (possibly in a sequel). From what we’ve been hearing, The Trench is most likely going to be standalone, not involving Atlantis or any heroes, and a prequel — so Arthur Curry and Mera might be no-shows.
Do you like the idea of a Trench movie so far? Tell us in the comments.