‘Lord Of The Rings’ Director Peter Jackson Reveals He Turned Down ‘Aquaman’ Twice

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit helmer Peter Jackson turned down the opportunity to direct DC’s Aquaman.

In a recent interview with Empire, Peter Jackson revealed that former Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara offered him the chance to direct Jason Momoa’s first cinematic solo outing as Aquaman. However, Peter Jackson him down not once, but twice.

“He 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’ 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.”

During the interview, Peter Jackson also mentioned that he doesn’t expect to make another feature soon.

“I don’t really anticipate making another theatrical film for a year or two.”

Aquaman was ultimately directed by James Wan, the filmmaker behind The Conjuring and Furious 7. The Jason Momoa starrer earned $1.143 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the highest-grossing DC Comics movie of all time. A sequel is currently in development at Warner Brothers.

Based on characters created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, Aquaman was written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall based on a story by Geoff Johns, James Wan and Beall. Peter Safran and Rob Cowan produced the film, with Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada serving as executive producers.

Directed by James Wan, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Orm / Ocean Master, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Ludi Lin as Captain Murk, and Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry.

Aquaman is now available on Digital HD, 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD while the sequel is currently dated for December 16, 2022.

Source: Empire