We've all heard the jokes, and yet here we are with a big budget Aquaman movie in 2018. It's hard to imagine something like this happening 10 years ago. For the fans who have stuck around for so long, director James Wan has a message he wants to share.

At a press junket for Aquaman in New York City, the filmmaker assured the assembled media that Aquaman was in good hands. "I want the fans to know that I am a fan myself," Wan stated. "I really respect the source material." He went on to talk about how much he loved the character, and all the comics that inspired him.

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As a fan himself, he dedicated the movie to "the fans who have stood by Aquaman all these years while people made fun of him. Made fun of his comic book. Made fun of all the characters in his world." After enduring the jokes, Wan promises "this is finally their opportunity to get revenge.

"This movie is made with a lot of love, made with a lot of passion," he continued. "I love these characters, and the world these characters reside in," a world he believe helped to make the movie even better.

He left the fans with one last message -- and this time he was talking to the youngest of fans who will be in the audience on opening night. "I want to introduce all these guys to a whole new generation of kids that never grew up with these characters." Ending it in the most appropriate way for an Aquaman movie, he said, "I want these two separate worlds to come together."

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Directed by James Wan, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, and Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna. The film opens on December 21.