Credit: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia CommonsThe director of DC Studios’ smash hit Aquaman movies has been mysteriously rushed to the hospital following an “extremely rough” medical emergency as things continue to fall apart behind the scenes of his latest collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Earlier this week, director James Wan, best known for his work on DC’s Aquaman (2018) and the Conjuring franchise, took to social media to share a health update after revealing that he’d been taken to the emergency room for reasons he has yet to make public.
In a cryptic message he shared to his Instagram followers on Thursday, Wan wrote, “It has been an extremely rough and scary couple of days and nights,” accompanied by a photo of him in a hospital bed with what looks to be an IV in one arm and a bandage on the other. He added, “You never want to rush to ER in the middle of the night and then have to stay in the hospital,” before going on to thank the staff at Cedars Sinai for their work, noting that Wan “is safe now and on the mend.”
Prayers up for James Wan 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3JxG2SvypF
— Home of DCU (@homeofdcu) August 3, 2023
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Thankfully, it seems like Wan will fully recover, which is excellent news considering the director has a jam-packed schedule through the rest of the year. His Jason Momoa-led comic book sequel, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom (2023) is currently slated to premiere around Christmas, while his production company, Atomic Monster, has several new installments in its Conjuring, M3GAN, Insidious, and Saw franchises in the works.
The frightening news of Wan’s hospitalization also comes at a particularly tumultuous time for DC and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which is struggling to navigate the seemingly endless WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that are currently rocking Hollywood. Not only does this spell trouble for productions on upcoming films and TV shows, but it’s proved particularly disruptive for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, which has reportedly undergone several reshoots in recent weeks.
Early test screenings of the Aquaman sequel were reportedly disastrous, with viewers deeming Wan’s latest efforts borderline “unwatchable.” DC hasn’t exactly had a great track record recently of knocking it out of the part with newer superhero blockbusters like The Flash (2023). Still, given that the first Aquaman installment remains the top-grossing DC movie of all time, expectations are high for its sequel to follow suit, hence the extensive efforts to salvage the film from inevitable disaster.
Given that the superhero flick is one of the last projects on DC’s roster, there’s also been whispers that Warner Bros. is thinking about postponing its theatrical release yet again to spread out their completed works in response to the strikes. With no end in sight for these protests, considering that negotiations between the unions and the major Hollywood studios have once again fallen through, Warner Bros. likely wants to ensure they have at least some finished projects in the pipeline to keep consistent profits.
Additionally, there’s another elephant in the room regarding the follow-up to the first Aquaman: its unavoidable Amber Heard problem. The ex-wife of Johnny Depp, Heard starred as Mera in the first film, an Atlantean warrior and love interest of Arthur Curry. After receiving widespread public backlash for her lawsuit against her former husband last year, many demanded that Heard be removed from the Aquaman sequel altogether. Reports claim that Mera’s role in the upcoming movie has been cut down to roughly 10 or 20 minutes, though her presence in the film, regardless of how prominent she is, will surely drive some away from seeing it in theaters this winter.
For now, any rumors surrounding Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom being delayed remain pure speculation, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Warner Bros. pushing back its release considering its apparently nightmarish production. However, above all else, it’s a relief to see that James Wan is on the mend following his scary hospital visit, and hopefully, we’ll receive an update on his health in the coming weeks as he continues to recover.
Are you planning on seeing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in theaters? Do you think it will be postponed again, possibly due to James Wan’s health scare? Let us know in the comments below.