Story from Variety:
Jason Momoa cast doubt on his future as Aquaman in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, and now DC Studios boss Peter Safran has weighed in by telling The Independent: “If it’s the end of the journey, fine. If it goes on, that’s also fine.”
Both Momoa and Safran are waiting to see how big of an audience “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” pulls in before definitively calling it the actor’s swan song as the superhero. The original “Aquaman” movie grossed $1 billion to become the highest grossing DCEU film. If the sequel reaches those heights it might warrant a third film, although box office tracking is not too spectacular heading into the film’s opening weekend.
“When I think of Jason in this role, he is the definitive Aquaman. He’s redefined it,” Safran told the publication. “It’s been an 11 or 12 year journey for him — a lot of the audience doesn’t realize that he was cast so long ago. It’s kind of redefined him. When he took this role he was known as Khal Drogo, and now he’s really Aquaman.”
“What I hope is that people will really be here to support him on this journey. If it’s the end of the journey, fine. If it goes on, that’s also fine, but I think it has meant so much to him,” Safran continued. “The way [director] James [Wan] crafted this second film, it feels like a very complete story when you watch the two films together. We’ll see what happens with him beyond it. I know that Jason will always have a home at DC, and at Warner Bros. In fact, his next movie is ‘Minecraft.'”
Safran is now leading DC Studios alongside James Gunn, and the two executives are rebooting the DC Universe with a new slate of interconnected films and television series. First up is the 2025 release of “Superman: Legacy,” which Gunn is writing and directing.
“I don’t necessarily want it to be the end … [but] I don’t think it’s really, like, a choice,” Momoa previously told Entertainment Tonight about his future as Aquaman.
Momoa noted that Gunn and Safran want “to start their own new thing up,” adding: “The truth of it is, I mean, if the audience loves [‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’], then there’s a possibility. But right now, I’m like, ‘It’s not looking too good.’ I love this character and [I would want to] play it for a long time. I kind of see where I would want it to go. And even in the next 10 years or so, there’s a lot of cool things they can do. And I do enjoy the role and the world. So, I mean, it just comes down to if people love it.”
Momoa confirmed to Variety at the Sundance Film Festival in January that he met with Gunn and Safran soon after they took over DC Studios in 2022. Rumors have circulated for some time that Momoa might be ditching Aquaman and playing a different comic book character, Lobo, in the new DC Universe. Those reports remain unconfirmed, but Safran saying Momoa “will always have a home at DC” certainly leaves the door open.
Back in March, Momoa appeared more optimistic about his Aquaman future when he told Total Film magazine: “I absolutely think Aquaman will be involved in the DCU. It’s on, bro — there’s no one bigger than Aquaman! But, also, I hope people are excited to see the new one. It’s fun. I really enjoy doing comedy. There’s some really funny stuff with Patrick Wilson. I really adore him. We had a great time working together. It’s like we’re brothers. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening in this one.”
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is opening in theaters nationwide on Dec. 22 from Warner Bros.