It was big news last week when Dope director Rick Famuyiwa was tapped to make the big-screen adaptation of DC Comics’ The Flash. Famuyiwa replaced Seth Grahame-Smith, who was originally supposed to make his directorial debut on the project, but later dropped out over “creative differences” with Warner Bros. But this whole scenario may not have played out if not for a decision made by a third filmmaker a few years ago.

In a new interview with UPROXXFurious 7The Conjuring 2, and future Aquaman director James Wan revealed that when he took the gig making the Aquaman movie he chose it over making a Flash movie. Warners actually offered both characters to Wan and let him decide which he was more interested in turning into a film. In his words:

I loved that Flash! But 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. And also, I love the fact that Aquaman is an underdog character. I love the fact that people like to make fun of him. [Laughs.] I feel the bar is a lot lower and I can have fun with him!

Wan added that he thinks people are “a lot less precious” with Aquaman than marquee characters like Spider-Man or Batman, giving him a lot more freedom “to just tell the story” he wants. (We’ll see if he’s right when the Aquaman die-hards see the changes he makes.)

But Wan also said that with The Flash the star of two different TV series (including a popular show on The CW right now), there was less to invent. And that makes total sense. Famuyiwa will get to put his own stamp on the character, but it’s going to be compared to all the stuff that’s come before. Wan gets a bit more room to play; the only thing he’s got to be compared to are those goofy scenes from Entourage.

James Wan’s Aquaman is scheduled for release on July 27, 2018.

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