“It’s been a long time since I’ve been back here,” he said once the noise had died down, “but I’m very excited to be here and to talk to you all!”
James Wan may be a world-famous movie director with multiple horror hits to his name – “Saw”, “The Conjuring”, “Insidious” and “Annabelle”, to name just four – but, by all accounts, he still has a soft spot for Malaysia.
The Kuching-born Wan – who moved with his family to Perth, Australia, when he was a child – has also stepped out of his niche several times with films such as “Furious Seven” and, most recently, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”.
Indeed, the main reason he was in Kuala Lumpur last Friday was to promote the sequel to his 2018 superhero flick, which premieres in cinemas today.
Of course, the call of home and hearth cannot be refused: Wan apparently spent his first few days back in Malaysia gorging on local delights.
Among them? Laksa, and Hainanese chicken rice – “and of course, durian! I had a lot of that yesterday”.
To burn off the calories, he also visited the temple at Batu Caves. “The walk up, it was so long! I didn’t realise it was so high up!”
Naturally, the 46-year-old director also fielded questions about “Aquaman 2”, explaining that the sequel focuses on the title character’s growth, having shifted from a loner to becoming the king of Atlantis.
“In this second chapter, we get to see what happens next, being the king of Atlantis, a dad, a husband. He is juggling a lot of responsibilities.”
Describing Jason Momoa’s character as “a reluctant king” critical of the weight of the crown but bearing it because he has to, he said the film is all about doing the things you don’t want to: “That’s what it means to be a king – making tough choices.”
He added that this instalment was also a “good old-fashioned revenge story” – you’ll have to watch the film yourself to find out why!
Asked if he injected any of his trademark horror into the movie, Wan pointed out that the ocean is both “magical” and “scary”, suggesting that he didn’t need to as “many people are already terrified of the ocean”.
He further shared that that filming underwater scenes can be a pain – “it’s arduous and taxing, difficult to plan and put together” – but, given that technology has come a long way since 2018, actors no longer require uncomfortable harnesses to pretend they are underwater.
Speaking of actors, fans were eager to know what it was like working with the likes of Momoa and Patrick Wilson, who plays Aquaman’s disgruntled half-brother Orm. It was “great fun”, Wan replied.
He also fielded light-hearted questions such as whether he would prefer to control water or talk to fish. The latter, he said, would be the more “benevolent” choice – although he would certainly make a water bridge to bypass Malaysian traffic!
Finally, would he ever consider bringing his filmmaking skills here? “I would love to! I would definitely fund a project set in Malaysia,” Wan replied, to resounding applause.
Suffice to say fans eagerly await the day!