Zack Snyder Gave His Blessing To James Wan's Aquaman

Jason Momoa as Aquaman

We haven't heard much from Zack Snyder in the DC Universe since he stepped down as the director of Justice League, but it turns out the man was still very much involved in the next chapter of the DCEU. Zach and Debbie Snyder are listed as producers of Aquaman as they have been for other installments in the DC film universe, but the title doesn't always mean somebody was directly involved in production. In this case, James Wan has confirmed that once he finished his story for Aquaman, he showed it to both Snyders who gave their approval. According to Wan...

Yeah, I showed Zack [Snyder] my Director's Cut pretty much right after I finished it and he gave me his thumbs up. He was really complementary about it. He basically gave his blessing to me to go finish the movie, because he knew how huge of an undertaking I had with the visual effects. What he saw was a lot of blue screen, a lot of pre-viz and a lot of storyboards. You photograph your storyboards and you cut it into the film and so it was very very rough and crude. But, I think the human element is there that played and I think he and Debbie [Snyder] were very complimentary about it. They gave us their blessing.

While it appears that Zack and Debbie Snyder saw a very early version of Aquaman, it sounds like it was enough to get the story across to them, and the pair approved of where James Wan was going with the story of Aquaman.

While not specifically stated to Collider, it sounds like this was a bit more than a courtesy for Wan to show his cut of the story to the Snyers. If they had taken issue with the plan in any way, the director would have almost certainly taken any notes into consideration.

When Zack Snyder was first handed the reins of Man of Steel he was largely given control of the DC film universe. He has acted as a producer on every DC film that he did not also direct. However, after stepping down as the director of Justice _League_ following a family tragedy, his exact future with the franchise had been unclear.

Interestingly, Zack Snyder is not currently listed as a producer of the next film in the DC universe, Shazam!, however, he will have that role for Wonder Woman 1984 so while it appears he is still very much involved, he is not overseeing every DC movie.

Fans of the DCEU will likely be glad to know that Zack Snyder is still more than just a producer in name. While Snyder likely won't be directing anything in the franchise for a while, he's reportedly involved in helming an adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, he hasn't given up on the DC heroes entirely.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.