Given the choice to direct "Aquaman" or "The Flash" for DC Films, James Wan opted to root for the Atlantean underdog.

Asked why he picked the DC Comics hero who is frequently the butt of jokes and relatively unknown compared to some of the Justice League's other heavy hitters, Wan told Uproxx, "The thing that ultimately pushed me more towards Aquaman is I love the possibility of creating a whole new world. I've always wanted to do a world creation story and visually create this amazing, incredible, magical kingdom."

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After bringing "The Conjuring" and "Insidious" film franchises to life, efforts that required him to build entire realities from scratch, it's no wonder the promise of another world and its creatures attracted James Wan's excitement.

Wan loves that "Aquaman" isn't treated as "precious" as more commonly known heroes like Spider-Man or Batman, something that will allows him the creative freedom to interpret what kind of hero Arthur Curry can be in the upcoming film.

"Aquaman" will star Jason Momoa, who made his debut in this year's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" as the king of Atlantis, and Amber Heard as Mera, his future spouse. It's slated for release July 27, 2018 from Warner Bros.