Amid various reports regarding a major shake-up with the DC Cinematic Universe courtesy of The Suicide Squad director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, it has emerged that Aquaman star Jason Momoa could depart from the role of the King of Atlantis for a different role in the comic universe: the intergalactic bounty hunter, Lobo. According to a lengthy new report by THR, Momoa would walk away from playing the underwater superhero following the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and step into the role of antihero Lobo. A role that Momoa has wanted to play for some time.
“Momoa, meanwhile, could emerge as a pivotal figure into the new plans, according to several sources. In one scenario, the actor would wrap up his days as underwater hero Arthur Curry with Lost City, due out Dec. 25, 2023, which would be the final movie released that was made by the previous regime. But it would not spell the end of the actor’s involvement with DC, with sources saying the actor would lead another movie or franchise. The character of Lobo, a foul-mouthed cigar-chomping intergalactic bounty hunter, has been mentioned in connection with Momoa”
The publication points out, quite rightly, that the Lobo character falls much more within the wheelhouse of both director James Gunn and star Jason Momoa, with Lobo being “an outsider, an anti-hero" and thus “keeping in line with Gunn’s specialty of taking the off-beat and quirky and flipping it into crowd-pleasing fare.” Bringing Lobo into the fray as a major player could also suggest the sorts of characters that Gunn and Safran plan to focus on as they recalibrate and reignite the DCU.
Jason Momoa Would Love to Play Lobo
Casting Jason Momoa as Lobo would of course be a huge boon for the DCU, and while it may be a little jarring at first, he would be far from the first actor to play multiple comic book characters. Though this could possibly be the first time that an actor has leaped from one major lead role to another within the same universe. Depending on what exactly James Gunn and Peter Safran have planned, of course.
No doubt audiences would quickly get over any jarring feelings they may have when they see the Aquaman star as Lobo. The actor is tailor-made for the role of the space-exploring antihero, and has wanted to portray the DC character for some time. In fact, Momoa himself had the rumor swirling in November when he was asked to “blink twice” over several comments he had made on social media about a dream project of his potentially coming to fruition.
"Well I have to obviously blink, so there’s no way I can get out of this without blinking, but you know that would be amazing if that happened,” he replied. “I’m just happy that [James] Gunn is at the helm and [Peter] Safran, who is just like my heart. So I'm in good hands and I think comic book fans around the world are going to be very excited."
For now, Jason Momoa is still Aquaman and will play the hero again in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2023.