Aussie Director James Wan Signs On For 'Aquaman'

Renowned Australian filmmaker James Wan will be a very busy man over the next several months.

Not only has the co-creator of the popular Saw horror franchise — more recently, the director of the unexpectedly well-received Furious 7 — been named as the director of DC Comics' forthcoming Aquaman feature film, but he's also snagged the big chair for the glacially developed live-action adaptation of sci-fi anime Robotech.

The new appointments were confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter overnight, with the Aquaman announcement seeing Wan join an existing creative team consisting of producers Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder and Batman V Superman director Zack Snyder.

If you haven't heard, Aquaman looks to be taking shape following a fairly popular narrative for the half-human king of Atlantis (here played by Game Of Thrones alumnus Jason Momoa, focusing on his torn allegiances between a surface world callously polluting everything it touches and a trigger-happy population of sub-mariners who have had just about enough of it, as recently canvassed in DC's Justice League story arc Throne Of Atlantis (which itself was recently adapted for the DC animated universe).

"The Aquaman film will be a major tentpole picture for us and James' span of work has proven him able to take on any manner of project, bringing his incredible creative talent and unique voice to the material," Warner Bros' studio president of creative development and worldwide production, Greg Silverman, said.

Less is known about Robotech's trajectory; that film's been in development for the better part of the past decade, and even though Sony acquired the rights earlier this year and seem to be moving quickly on bringing it to fruition, with Wan's appointment coming just over two months after the deal was publicised, there's still a way to go before the film takes shape.

Also on Wan's plate ahead of Aquaman and Robotech is The Conjuring 2: The Endfield Experiment, which he will shoot for New Line Cinema this year.

Aquaman is due for release in 2018.

It probably won't feature the Rousing Song Of Heroism.

Bummer.