Jason Momoa Says WB Ignored His Ideas For AQUAMAN 2 and Rants About Mystery Co-Star

Jason Momoa is like the real life Aquaman, with his Hawaiian tattoos and his naturally tan skin and stunning physique, teamed with his activism for the earth’s oceans, it just makes sense. But even so, he was surprised that his Warner Bros./DC film, Aquaman (2019), did any good at the box office.

In a recent interview with Men’s Health, Momoa said:

“Well, to be perfectly honest, I was absolutely baffled that Aquaman was received so well. I’ve done things that are amazing that no one sees and no one gives a shit about. You just don’t know in this business. I don’t go do things and think, Oh, I’m gonna get $1 billion on this one. I go in and do my best job.”

The actor went on to explain that after making the first film, he got into the process of digging into the character, and he wrote a 50-page story outline for the upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, with his longtime producing partner, Brian Mendoza. He says that Warner Bros. bought the story outline, but used little of it in the film. He went on to rant about the fact that he loves to create, but has been underutilized, all while “some people” in his career have completely phoned in their performances, though he doesn’t mention who:

“That’s the reason why I love directing and creating. At the end of Chief of War, I’m like, ‘Yeah, feel free to knock, ridicule it. If it isn’t good, then we suck. It’s our fault.’ Yeah. I don’t wanna just go like, ‘I’m acting. I’ll be in my trailer.’ I love being able to burn for what I believe in. I’ve seen some of the most shocking acting performances firsthand and watched them edited, and they were amazing. I wish I could tell you who it was. I’m like, ‘What the fuck?’ I watched this guy who had to be fucking propped up. They read the lines to him. But this motherfucker killed it when the edit came in and was applauded for it. At that point, I was like, ‘Wow, this shit is made in the edit.’”

But hopefully Momoa will have a more collaborative experience at DC these days, with new co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn running things. Safran, who produced Aquaman and the sequel, is a big Momoa fan. He said of the actor:

“What you see is what you get with Jason. I have been working with him for six or seven years, and I keep waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. If there is an inner asshole in him, it has never come out. That, to me, is a surprise . . . albeit a very pleasant one.”

Momoa says he’s “extremely, extremely excited” about his DCEU future but won’t divulge any secrets other than “there’s a lot of badass shit coming up.”

Safran, who probably wrote the secrecy memo, adds:

“I look forward to working with Jason for many years to come. I would be happy for it to be in Arthur Curry’s world, but if/when another opportunity came up, I’d find another great character for him to create.”

The bar is set high, because, as Safran says, “there are few superhero castings that are more perfect than Momoa as Aquaman.”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be released on December 20th, 2023.