James Wan ended up directing Aquaman to great success, but it seems he wasn’t the only name that Warner Bros. considered. Speaking with Empire, Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) revealed that he was asked twice about his interest in taking on the King of Atlantis.
“[Former Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara] said, ‘Are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ‘No.’ Six months later: ‘Peter, are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ’No, Kevin, I already told you this’,” Jackson said of the exchanges. “I’m not a superhero guy. I read Tintin… Look, films are hard. I only want to make something that I have a deep passion for.” Jackson went on to add, “I don’t really anticipate making another theatrical film for a year or two.”
Considering the payday for directors such as Jackson on films of this scale, you have to admire that he doesn’t want to do a movie just to do a movie. Too often that is how you end up with lackluster films. Peter Jackson is certainly capable of doing films on a grand scale, but it’s always better for everyone if the director cares. Otherwise the lack of passion definitely shows through.
Jackson’s next project is serving as a producer on an untitled Beatles documentary.
SOURCE: Empire
IMAGE SOURCE: Shutterstock – Peter Jackson – Kathy Hutchins
