Only One Justice League Actor Likely To Survive The DC Superhero Purge
The ongoing cataclysmic shakeup of the DCU under the new regime of James Gunn and Peter Safran has already claimed Gal Gadot and Henry Cavil as victims, but their Justice League co-star, Jason Momoa, is rumored to be the last actor standing of the original group. The Hollywood Reporter is breaking the news that Gunn and Safran’s months-long planning session has resulted in a DC Bible, a large document that will help guide and dictate the future of the franchise. Rumored to not be included in those plans are Momoa’s Aquaman, instead, the hunky Hawaiian will take on a new role within the DCU.
Jason Momoa’s Aquaman was a hit even before his solo film, with the actor’s natural charisma and incredible physique wiping away the common public perception of Aquaman as “that guy who talks to fish.” After breaking out of the Justice League ensemble, his solo film was a gigantic success, hauling in over $1 billion dollars worldwide. The only non-Batman adjacent film to earn more money is the first Gal Gadot Wonder Woman movie, which according to the latest news from Warner Bros. Discovery, is not a guarantee of safety.
Gal Gadot’s third Wonder Woman movie has been cancelled by the studio. Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel 2 is likely to be joining it on the same discard pile currently home to Batgirl and any hopes of a Black Adam sequel. Jason Momoa’s time as Aquaman is likely to be finished as part of the massive, line-wide reset currently taking place, but the actor is still part of the DCU under Gunn and Safran, and dolphins are still involved.
Jason Momoa is heavily rumored to be going from a kingdom under the sea to a space-faring bike as the Main Man, Lobo, Intergalactic Bounty Hunter. Created in the late 80’s as a satire of the grim and dark superheroes present at the time, Lobo was an incredibly bloody comic filled with booze, blood, and creative swearing. The jacked Momoa would fit in as the equally buff bounty hunter, though any film with Lobo would likely be rated R and present a dramatic shift from the typical DCU fare.
Which might be a good thing, especially given the box office bomb that is Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. The DCU has, ever since its conception with Man of Steel, been viewed as inferior to the MCU due to the lack of connective tissue from movie to movie. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman may have been a hit, but for the most part, it was a standalone film that had no bearing on future movies.
The DC Bible, as created by Gunn and Safran, looks to correct what has been as a problem with the DCU. Resetting the entire universe to the point that an established actor is now playing a different character entirely is a fairly dramatic way to cast away the old and bring in the new. Complicating any large-scale reset is Jason Momoa’s upcoming film, Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, due out for Christmas next year.
Jason Momoa’s next DC film may be his last, or just his last as Arthur Curry, but either way, it will be the last film from the original Justice League cast. Before Aquaman takes his final bow, Shazam: Fury of the Gods will be out in March, with hopefully, Blue Beetle arriving in August. If Aquaman is done for, fans can at least hope that Momoa is back as Lobo, perhaps the closest character the DCU will have to Deadpool.
