After the years-long tease that “Aquaman” actor Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones,” ‘Dune”) could get a secondary DC Comics role with Lobo, it has been officially announced that he’ll be playing the violent smart-mouthed alien bounty hunter in “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.”
Long before the Snyderverse or “Aquaman,” Momoa had been making the convention rounds for ages (going back to his days on “Stargate: Atlantis” and “Game of Thrones”) and kept campaigning to play Lobo. This was back when Warner Bros. had been developing a solo feature film for decades focused on the notable Superman villain and once had Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen”) in the mix to play The Main Man.
DC Studios co-CEO, James Gunn, has previously confirmed that filming on “Supergirl” was expected to start next month, so, more casting announcements are likely coming in hot. They’ve previously secured director Craig Gillespie (“Cruella”) and Australian actress Milly Alcock (“House of The Dragon”) is set to play the titular Kryptonian heroine with a release date set for June 26, 2026.
Lobo is essentially the DC Comics version of Deadpool and Wolverine, having more of a satirical/mature leaning and in the wake of the massive success of the “Deadpool” trilogy (the last installment earning a hefty $1.3 billion), finally adding him to a comic book universe spearheaded by Gunn always made sense.
Placing Momoa in the Lobo role, after the Snyderverse ended with the DCU reset, was an early tease from the trades when Gunn took over the franchise and launched DC Studios with Peter Safran. So, while putting him in “Supergirl” is a surprise, the casting isn’t too shocking. Gunn and Momoa nearly worked together on the first “Guardians of The Galaxy” film when he was originally going to play Drax (you can see some early Drax concept art with Momoa’s face being used), but bowed out over the stingy money they offered.
Despite “Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom,” the upcoming sequel to the billion-dollar hit “Aquaman,” being on the way this December, it looks like actor Jason Momoa (“Dune,” “Game of Thrones”) is now seeking another big comic book role at DC Studios. In a new report from Variety, the outlet claims that Momoa’s time as Aquaman is ending and is already in talks to play another DC Comics character. That being Lobo, a beefy alien biker and bounty hunter who can go toe-to-toe with Superman but has some antihero traits similar to that of both Marvel’s Wolverine and Deadpool. Gruff appearance and lots of witty one-liners ready to go, a character that would most likely suit Momoa’s entire aesthetic more than Aquaman or any other hero or villain in comics.
Speaking of the Man of Steel facing off with The Main Man, they also suggest it is unclear if his first appearance would be in James Gunn‘s “Superman: Legacy” or in a hypothetical solo adventure. As far as we know there hasn’t been any active development on the new incarnation of the “Lobo” movie, which had been in the works a long time ago.
Momoa may return, just not as Aquaman. Sources say the actor has engaged in talks to play Lobo, either in the 2025 reboot ‘Superman: Legacy,’ written and directed by Gunn, or in a standalone film.
Ages ago, a solo “Lobo” movie had been in development at Warner Bros. predating either Momoa or Gunn’s involvement with the current run of comic book movies. At one point, Joel Silver was producing and had Guy Ritchie (“Aladdin,” “Snatch”) attached to direct with various suitors aiming to play Lobo at different times such as JeffreyDean Morgan (“Watchmen,” “The Walking Dead”) during the Ritchie version and “Black Adam” actor Dwayne Johnson (Eyed a mangled Sgt. Rock incarnation as well) back with Brad Peyton when it once looked like he was going to direct.
However, a leaked version of the “Lobo” script made its way online and seemed to focus on alien fugitives making their way to Earth as Lobo was in pursuit of them in his capacity as a ruthless bounty hunter. Making his way to Earth to collect his newest bounties.
Since then, there really hasn’t been any talk of bringing Lobo to the big screen and we’ll wait for some official word from Gunn/WB before getting too excited about the prospect of Momoa as Lobo. It would be nice to see DC Studios branch out with a couple more cosmic projects since Lobo is a character that can be explored in outer space and on Earth. The former is the preferred setting given how few non-Earthbound films we’ve seen from Warner Bros. since they started churning out modern DC projects.
Momoa had been previously outspoken that one of his dream roles would be playing Lobo, so, this might be a solid way to transition the actor into the newly formed DCU. The hard reset on the DCEU seemingly is the reason as other actors playing “Justice League” members (Momoa, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Ezra Miller) aren’t expected to reprise their roles either. This comes after some misleading statements suggesting that Gadot would be involved with a third “Wonder Woman” movie and a wave of untrustworthy online rumors claiming that Affleck would be getting multiple new projects as Batman. Clearly, the Affleck nonsense has been put to rest.
In fact, none of the stars cast by Zack Snyder for 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League” — including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Momoa — will reprise their roles in the new DC universe in character.
Gunn has clarified the three existing characters carrying over to the DCU are John Cena’s Peacemaker, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle. Limiting the carry-over characters, including ones that Gunn helped mold, might be sort of an olive branch to fans potentially upset that the Snyderverse is being expelled for the new rebooted cinematic universe.
I’m sure we’ll end up hearing soon from Gunn on these new tidbits.
There had been suspicions that Warner Bros. was holding back a trailer for their “Aquaman” sequel because of a potential release date shift amid moving “Dune: Part Two” from November to March of next year. The studio has dropped a first-look trailer for the DC Comics film that is a follow-up to the billion-dollar hit and looks like “Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom” will indeed make that December 20 date as promised.
We’re not expecting too much in the way of plot and character depth, but it looks like director James Wan has cooked up something that doubles down on the spectacle. We now see Black Manta has the means and power via The Black Trident to get revenge for the death of his father. The villain was slowly being set up in the first installment as a future antagonist. As Black Manta threatens Atlantis and the other kingdoms, Arthur will have to team up with his villainous brother, Orm, to save their people from this deadly menace from the surface.
“Aquaman 2” is now the last feature film from the previous regime as James Gunn and Peter Safran look to reset the DCU with “Blue Beetle” confirmed to be part of that new vision. Gunn is gearing up to shoot “Superman: Legacy” next year in Atlanta with actors David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Guy Garnder/Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
It’ll be interesting to see if Jason Momoa ends up getting a second DC Comics role in the new DCU as there have been hints that he may just happen to end up landing to Lobo if his tenure as Aquaman is truly finished. Momoa is the spitting image of the alien bounty hunter and certainly would be a comedic/mature character that fits nicely alongside Gunn’s own “The Suicide Squad.” A “Lobo” movie has been in the works for ages with a string of directors being involved/wanted at different points such as Guy Ritchie, Michael Bay, and Brad Peyton.
Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction. All returning to the roles they originated, Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry/Aquaman, now balancing his duties as both the King of Atlantis and a new father; Patrick Wilson is Orm, Aquaman’s half-brother and his nemesis, who must now step into a new role as his brother’s reluctant ally; Amber Heard is Mera, Atlantis’ Queen and mother of the heir to the throne; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is Black Manta, committed more than ever to avenge his father’s death by destroying Aquaman, his family and Atlantis; and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, a fierce leader and mother with the heart of a warrior. Also reprising their roles are Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus and Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin.
Last week, actor Dave Bautista made a pitch on Twitter about making a buddy cop movie, similar to Lethal Weapon, with pal Jason Momoa and directed by David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw). Bautista and Momoa have been working together recently on projects like Dune and the Apple TV+ series See.
“Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go…me and Momoa in a ‘Lethal Weapon’-type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.”
Momoa has now given a bit of an update while speaking with James Cordon on The Late Late Show, suggesting that he’s down for it and mentioned that Bautista wants to make it Hawaii.
“He literally texted me four days ago, going, ‘We need to do a buddy cop film. We love each other. We are on See and Dune together.’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And he said, ‘Let’s do it in Hawaii.’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it. I have an idea.’ So it’s off to the races now. We’re doing it.”
“It sells itself, bro. Dave loves wearing Speedos. I love wearing board shorts. And both of us with our shirts off. He’ll be grumpy and I’ll be charming. Boom. It sells itself, bro. I have the hair. He doesn’t have hair. We cover all the demographics.”
When this could happen seems to be the question, as Leitch is about to shoot his Will Smith thriller Fast & Loose. Bautista is about to begin shooting James Gunn’s Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 in November and Momoa is currently involved with James Wan’s Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom. There is an expectation that Bautista will return for Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve recently teasing a fall 2022 production start.
Anyways, it’s a rad idea and with the write script/director could be a fun time.
Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.😬
Production has been underway for a while now on Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England. However, we don’t know a lot about the film outside of it focusing on Necrus (assumed to be the “lost kingdom”) and the DC Comics villain Mongo.
Director James Wan has mentioned a key film that will “heavily inspire” the Aquaman sequel. While speaking with Total Film, the filmmaker cited Mario Bava’s classic Italian sci-fi horror film Planet of The Vampires from 1965.
“Aquaman 2 is very heavily inspired by Planet of the Vampires. You can take the boy out of horror but you can never take the horror out the boy.”
It’s a little shocking given how goofy and colorful the original installment was, but Wan seemingly indicates they’ll be doing a little darker with Aquaman 2.
“Well, the first movie took a lot of people by surprise, right? And that’s partially because they were not familiar with the comic book, which deals in this very lurid, strange world. People were taken aback that I didn’t throw all that stuff away and make a dark, heavy film. But I didn’t feel that would have been right for it. So with the second film, I feel it will be easier for people to accept where we go because I’ve already laid the foundation.”
If you’re not familiar to the Italian sci-fi horror film check out a synopsis and trailer (alongside Joe Dante talking about the film for Trailers From hell) below.
PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES – In the near future the two spaceships Argos and Galliot are sent to investigate the mysterious planet Aura. As the Galliot lands on the planet her crew suddenly go berserk and attack each other. The strange event passes, but the crew soon discovers the crashed Argos – and learns that her crew died fighting each other! Investigating further, the explorers come to realize the existence of a race of bodiless aliens that seek to escape from their dying world.
Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom is set to hit theaters on December 16, 2022.
We’ve been hearing a lot about extended or director’s cuts being championed recently. And it sounds like Dune has a much longer cut and actor Jason Momoa is getting behind the idea of releasing the four-to-six-hour incarnation allowing people to watch Denis Villeneuve’s longer version like a television.
Momoa’s comments were made during a chat with the New York Times and seemingly echoes how HBO Max released the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League.
“It was a cool movie. You know what they need to do? They need to make the four-to-six hour version of the first half. It’s like, ‘Let’s watch the four-to-five-hour movie like a TV show; I can choose when I want to watch the whole thing.’ I want to see Denis’s whole vision. I don’t want it to be trimmed,” Momoa told the New York Times about his interest of seeing the extended cut of Dune being released.
This idea of Dune being watched as a television show isn’t that far-fetched, as there was a miniseries adaptation by the Sci-Fi Channel and HBO Max/Legendary are developing a new streaming series, Dune: The Sisterhood.
Dune, part one of two installments covering the original novel by Frank Herbert, will be officially released in theaters and HBO Max on October 22.
DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Dune’s cast consists of Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).
Today, Warner Bros. has released the main trailer for Denis Villleneuve’s Dune, based on the first half of the classic Frank Herbert sci-fi fantasy novel. It will hit both theaters and HBO Max on October 22 with Legendary hoping that it will turn into a franchise as a sequel covering the second half of the book in already in development and an HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood has been announced as well.
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).
Director James Wan has taken to Instagram to announce that the Aquaman sequel, Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom, has begun filming on the United Kingdom stages and the photo also confirmed that cinematographer Don Burgess is back after shooting the last installment.
Wan’s photo below showcases an icy set and reiterates the sequel’s working title of Nercus, a reference to King Mongo’s kingdom aka The Black City.
Filming will be taking place at Warner Bros. Studios. Leavesden in Watford, England and a bit of a change-up of shooting location as the first film was shot at Village Roadshow Studios in Australia. The English facility is also being used for The Flash movie alongside recently wrapped Warner Bros. pics such as The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3.
Other DC Comics films in production include Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam that is about finish up soon and David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!: Fury of The Gods recently just started down in Atlanta.
Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom is set for release on December 16, 2022 pitting it against James Cameron’s Avatar 2.
Jason Momoa will begin shooting his Aquaman sequel Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom over the summer for director James Wan, but while speaking with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show he couldn’t help to gush about viewing his other big film, Dune, with his children. He went on to praise Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve and called the film a “masterpiece.”
“It is a masterpiece, I’ve never been on something of that scope, Denis [Villeneuve] is a genius. I got to see it, it’s really cool because my kids are up here and took them to it. First time I got to see something like that with my kids, it’s very adult movie but it’s so beautiful, the cast is massive,” Jason Momoa told Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon also reiterating that Dune will indeed a hybrid release on October 1 heading to both theaters and HBO Max, an obvious note from WarnerMedia when the project was brought-up and promoted by the two.
Luckily, for Dune fans it won’t end with this single film as Denis Villeneuve is attached to return for Dune: Part Two (an adaptation of the second half of the first novel) and had been expected to helm episodes of the HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood.
DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, DUNE tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).
Warner Bros. is in an interesting position with their DCEU franchise as The Batman has seemingly finished-up production, The Suicide Squad releases this summer, with production started on The Flash and Black Adam respectively. Shazam: Fury of The Gods is also set to begin shooting soon as well.
The next big DC Comics film will be James Wan’s sequel to the billion-dollar hit Aquaman and Jason Momoa has confirmed during an interview with The Drew Barrymore Show that production will begin this July, adding that he contributed to the film as a writer working on the sequel’s story treatment and originally pitching the idea to the studio.
The Ronin can confirm that production will be taking place at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England. It’s a facility commonly used for DC Comics shoots including Wonder Woman 1984, The Flash, The Batman, and Justice League. The previous Aquaman film was shot mostly under in Australia at Village Roadshow Studios and it’s unclear why they decided to stick with Watford, England this time around.
Amber Heard is confirmed to reprise the role of Mera with Danish actor Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones, Overlord, Ghost In The Shell) joining the sequel’s cast.
Momoa has been filming projects in Canada recently such as the Netflix film Slumberland.
Aquaman 2 is still set to be released by Warner Bros. on December 16, 2022.
AQUAMAN – Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people — and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm’s half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.
THE RONIN 