Peter Safran, the co-head of DC Studios, has shared that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could be Jason Momoa’s final appearance as the legendary comic book character.
His comment came after the actor also said that the future of the DC superhero franchise is “not looking too good.”
While recently speaking at the Aquaman sequel event at the IWC Schaffhausen boutique in Beverly Hills, Safran responded to a question about Momoa’s future at DC Studios. “When I think of Jason in this role, he is the definitive Aquaman,” he responded. “He’s redefined it. … It’s really 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.”
Heading into Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s theatrical release on Friday, the movie is tracking for a soft opening at the box office, which would pale in comparison to the first installment, released in 2018. The film, directed by James Wan, has also been met with negative reviews and currently has a 38 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In her review, The Hollywood Reporter Arts & Culture Critic Lovia Gyarkye said the sequel is “frustratingly committed to formula.”
But for Safran, he just hopes fans “will really be here to support him [Momoa] in 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. The way [director] James [Wan] crafted this second film, it feels like a very complete story when you watch the two films together.”
He added, “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 and James Gunn took over DC Studios last year and have been open about creating their own vision for the DC cinematic universe.
Last week, Momoa talked to Entertainment Tonight about reports that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could be his last time playing the King of Atlantis. “I don’t necessarily want it to be the end… [but] I don’t think it’s really, like, a choice,” he said at the time.
Though the actor has greatly enjoyed playing the comic book character, he understands that Safran and James Gunn want “to start their own new thing up” at DC Studios.
“The truth of it is, I mean, if the audience loves it, then there’s a possibility,” Momoa said of the possibility to play Aquaman again. “But right now, I’m like, ‘It’s not looking too good.’”
He added, “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, like 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.”
At the IWC Schaffhausen event, Safran was there as the Swiss luxury watchmaker launched its Aquaman-inspired watches, the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month, in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures.