Why We Haven't Gotten An Aquaman Trailer Yet, According To James Wan

aquaman in the dc movie, James Wan

There were some rumors apparently going about that an Aquaman teaser was expected soon, but James Wan says that won't be happening. He says there never actually was a plan to release a teaser this weekend, and he wants to assure fans that there's no behind-the-scenes conspiracy keeping the trailer from coming out. Wan explained on Twitter that the reason there's no footage of Aquaman yet is that he's not ready for it to see the light of day. He wants to make sure the massive amount of digital effects look as good as they possibly can, even in the trailer. According to Wan...

I am simply not ready yet to share. This movie is filled to the gills with VFX, and the process is as slow and laborious as a sea-slug! Yes, even shots for the trailers take forever to do, and I refuse to put out anything that might be construed as subpar.

With the vast majority of Aquaman set to take place underwater, James Wan isn't exaggerating when he says the movie is "filled to the gills" with visual effects. Nearly every shot in the movie is likely to need some sort of CGI work done to create the underwater world that Aquaman inhabits. The process is apparently slow, and so the simple fact is there isn't enough of the work completed to put out a trailer for Aquaman quite yet. James Wan explains on Twitter that he doesn't want anything to look anything less than perfect.

This may be the perfectionist in James Wan, or it could be the fact that the digital effects in the last DC Comics movie, Justice League were picked apart by a lot of people. Hasty reshoots and the need to CGI away Henry Cavill's mustache on a deadline led to an unfinished look that bothered a lot of people while watching the film. Certainly, Aquaman wants to avoid getting lumped in with Justice League in that regard.

As much as we want to get a look at Aquaman, there's plenty of time for that. The movie isn't set to release until December 21, so there's plenty of time to get a first look at the new film. We have started to see trailers from a few films hitting at the end of the year, like November's Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, but Aquaman comes out a month after that, so while a trailer would be nice, it isn't exactly late in the game at this point.

I'm guessing we will see an Aquaman trailer before long; we're getting into the busy movie season and Aquaman is going to want to get noticed by the increased crowds, so we'll hopefully get a look in the next month or so. James Wan promises that work is happening, even if it's not obvious from the outside.

I know it seems like nothing much is brewing above the surface, but I can assure you, we're working nonstop under the waves. (Ps: And yes, I plan to use oceanic puns/references every chance I get.)

It looks like we can all relax. Aquaman may not be ready for his solo debut yet, but that day is coming. For now, take a look at what we know about the upcoming movie.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.