When Joss Whedon took over Justice League from Zack Snyder, most people saw it as a trade up, and for very good reason. Whedon must've thought so, too, because he made wholesale changes to Snyder's vision, including to the characters themselves. And that includes Jason Momoa's Aquaman, who is very different in his solo movie than he was in Justice League.
Apparently, Snyder and Aquaman director James Wan had a pow-wow on the best way to get Arthur Curry as far from Whedon's version as possible. Damn, Joss. Here's the claim made by actor Neil Daly, who oversaw test screenings of both Justice League and Aquaman...
"We could have gotten a whole movie about Aquaman basically fawning over Mera the whole time and making all kinds of dirty jokes and things like that and they really had to get away from that, which is all what Whedon had done, so Snyder had a little bit of an influence on Aquaman. James Wan was showing Zack Snyder - against the studio's wishes - cuts of the movie and early test screenings and storyboards to make sure that they're on the same page with what he originally wanted and Snyder gave his blessing of approval, bringing it back to what he wanted all along."
Damn. Is that like the final insult for Joss Whedon, or what? I know dude has taken some hits lately, but this has to sting. James Wan asked Zack Snyder for help in undoing his work. Ooof.
I imagine this will only add fuel to the fiery fans demanding a "Snyder Cut" of Justice League. It's never gonna happen, but you keep doin' you, folks. Whatever process Wan had to go through to make Aquaman as cool as it was, I'm happy he did it. More of that, please.
