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Making the announcement today, Warner Bros has unveiled that James Wan, whose Furious 7 has grossed over a billion and a half dollars worldwide, will be directing the Jason Momoa starring Aquaman.

Warner’s film chief Greg Silverman, who was the focus of Heidi’s post on DC films just a bit earlier today, had this to say about the new addition to the DC Cinematic line-up:

We’ve been so lucky to have worked with James, first on New Line’s ‘The Conjuring’ and now on their upcoming ‘The Conjuring 2 and are thrilled to have him on board as we continue to expand our DC slate. The ‘Aquaman’ film will be a major tentpole picture for us and James’s span of work has proven him able to take on any manner of project, bringing his incredible creative talent and unique voice to the material.

Producer Charles Roven added:

James is not only a great storyteller but can make action truly explode on the big screen and Jason has a dynamic presence that commands your attention. Together, they will bring an undeniable vitality and energy to this character as he headlines his first feature film.

Roven will produce alongside Deborah Snyder and Zack Snyder from a script by Kurt Johnstad (300: Rise of an Empire), which means that, sadly, the Jeff Nichols script won’t see the light of day; but Wan is a terrific addition to a group of filmmakers that thus far includes: the above mentioned Snyder (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League), David Ayer (Suicide Squad), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), and some writing involvement at the very least by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Flash).

Momoa’s Aquaman will first appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice next year. Here’s how the press release describes the upcoming Aquaman:

An icon for over 70 years, Aquaman is the King of the Seven Seas. This reluctant ruler of Atlantis, caught between a surface world constantly ravaging the sea and Atlanteans looking to lash out in revolt, is committed to protecting the entire globe.

After raking in $392 million worldwide with Furious 7, James Wan is now Warner Bros front-runner to direct Aquaman.

The film, which already has Jason Momoa (The Red Road, Game of Thrones) in place to star, has been a topic of rumor for a few months now. Names like Jeff Nichols and Noam Murro had been discussed by the studio according to sources, but with Wan’s big splash over the weekend (no pun intended) it seems he has skyrocketed back up Warner Bros’ radar.

According to THR, there’s no offer yet in place and talks are just in the preliminary stage, but this is certainly one of the more promising developments to surface regarding the film.

Aquaman is still in a bit of a weird situation where it’s being developed in two separate tracks, with scripts being written by both Will Beall (Gangster Squad) and Kurt Johnstad (300: Rise of an Empire). Beall wrote a Justice League script for the studio a few years back that was rumored to be “terrible” and before Warner Bros had its current plan in place.

The biggest obstacle other than nailing down a solid script? Wan still has an option with Universal for the next Fast and Furious movie. Wan isn’t expected to return, but Universal could very well exercise their option with him, and the scheduling would surely knock him out of contention.

With both Aquaman and The Flash looking at 2018 release dates, I don’t expect news to come around immediately, but there may be a big SDCC announcement brewing at the very least.