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With rumours floating around that Jason Momoa might soon have to give up on his role as superhero Aquaman, the actor came forward and stated otherwise. “I’ll always be Aquaman. Ain’t anyone coming in there and taking s–t,” Momoa said in an interview, after having recently met up with DC Studio co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran to discuss the future of the comic book universe. Momoa reiterated that the meeting went well, even briefly suggesting that he might play other characters for DC down the line as well.
Reports from last month suggested that Momoa would soon emerge as a vital figure in DC Studio’s new plans, specifically as Lobo, the intergalactic, cigar-smoking bounty hunter. Neither Gunn nor Safran have confirmed these plans publicly yet. “There might be some other characters too. I can play other things, too. I can be funny and savage and charming,” Momoa said in the interview, in which he also provided details regarding the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The first treatment for the script, which he co-wrote with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, has much to do with the Atlantean ruler raising his concerns regarding melting ice caps, to the United Nations.
“There’s no far-off galaxy coming to destroy us, or aliens from another place. It’s us ruining our planet. We need to get it together and save our home,” Momoa added. Back in November, in a series of photos posted to his Instagram, the actor more or less confirmed this plot thread, via a behind-the-scenes picture which saw Aquaman addressing the world as the king of Atlantis. In the caption, however, Momoa seems to be unsure whether the scene actually made the final cut. Ben Affleck is also set to return as Bruce Wayne in the sequel, while the film itself will incorporate horror elements, from a thematic standpoint. “Aquaman 2 is very heavily inspired by Planet of the Vampires,” returning director James Wan told Total Film back in 2021. “You can take the boy out of horror but you can never take the horror out the boy.”
Rumours about Momoa relinquishing his role as Aquaman came about when Gunn and Safran decided to cancel Wonder Woman 3, after having gone through returning writer-director Patty Jenkins’ script treatment for the character. The announcement was followed up by Henry Cavill’s plans to return as Superman getting cancelled, in favour of Gunn wanting to focus on the younger years of the Kryptonian hero. These decisions, alongside Gunn and Safran’s appointment as co-chairs, came in the favour of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav wanting to reset the DC Universe and create an intertwined universe, akin to what President Kevin Feige achieved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Leslie Grace and Brendan Fraser-led Batgirl movie was another such project to get axed at the studio, albeit this was under ex-President Walter Hamada’s regime.
The first Aquaman movie remains the highest-grossing DC film ever, earning $1.14 billion (approximately Rs. 9,200 crore) at the global box office. Its sequel, which is slated to release on Christmas Day this year, is expected to feature more world building in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, with Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Amber Heard all returning to the cast.