Jason Momoa Playing DC Super-Antihero Lobo In New Superman Movie?

This month, newly minted DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran presented Warner Bros. Discovery leadership with a 10-year plan to rebuild the studio’s superhero properties into Marvel-level successes and beyond. So far, little of that plan has leaked or been officially announced publicly. But Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman in the current DCEU, is about to take on a different character in a future DC film — rumors and strong hints point to Momoa playing DC’s super-antihero Lobo, and if not a solo film then in the Superman reboot movie.

To understand the latest rumors, let’s look at what little we do know. Henry Cavill is out as Superman, to be replaced by a younger actor in a reboot film penned by Gunn himself, and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 starring Gal Godot is effectively cancelled. Additionally, James Gunn and Dwayne Johnson confirmed that the latter’s incarnation of Black Adam won’t be moving forward in the new DC plans, either.

Meanwhile, at Sundance Film Festival, Momoa himself seemed to confirm the rumors about him taking over a different character for DC movies going forward, while hinting nobody was taking the role of Aquaman away from him even if he is also playing other roles in different DC movies.

Now, does that mean he’s staying in the role? Or does he mean he was the first big-screen live-action Aquaman and anyone else following him in the role isn’t taking it away or erasing what he’s already done — for many fans, he will remain “their” Aquaman the same way other fans might say “Michael Keaton will always be my Batman” or “nobody will ever top Chris Evans as Steve Rogers” and so on.

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Regardless of whether 0r not he’s remaining in the Aquaman franchise lead role, however, Momoa does seem lined up to take on another character in the new DC Studios plan. And since that does seem to be likely now, it would almost feel strange if it wasn’t Lobo, since that’s the comic book character he seems to love most.

Likewise, one of Gunn’s earliest social media posts offering any hints as to his thinking and plans for DC’s future included an image of Lobo from the comics. And there’s no point denying Momoa just looks the part of Lobo, and certainly has the personality and chops to pull of a great live-action portrayal of the alien antihero.

So with most signs pointing to Momoa playing Lobo in a new upcoming DC Studios project, the question becomes whether it’s a solo movie, a The Suicide Squad sequel (in which he could either be a member of the squad or, more likely, a target of the squad), or the Superman reboot project Gunn is writing.

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Any of those options would be great. However, while my too-early gut feeling is we’ll see Lobo played by Momoa in the Superman film, I actually think the idea of Lobo arriving on Earth and being pursued and fought by the Suicide Squad sounds hilarious and full of all manner of wild, crazy battles and situations. As a huuuge fan of Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (I gave it 4 stars in my recent countdown ranking all of the current DCEU movies) and spinoff Peacemaker series, I would love to see a sequel and I think Lobo is one terrific option to include.

But Lobo in a Superman movie — if that were to happen — has its own promise of immense fun and adventure filled with large-scale action spectacle (which we know Gunn is a master of, so if he directs as well as writes the Superman reboot then just imagine the glorious potential results). And a solo Lobo film is a blank slate, on which Gunn could create things we’ve never thought of and include characters we’d never expect, making it arguably the best canvass for Gunn’s imagination to run wild.

We will find out some new about DC Studio’s future plans soon, as Gunn and Safran — along with WBD — are set to reveal some good information and updates sometime in the next week. And with Momoa saying a lot publicly already (while sort of also not saying anything, I suppose), I am inclined to suspect some of the news we get will involve the project he’s had discussions and meetings about recently.

Stay tuned and check back here soon for more updates about DC Studios, Jason Momoa’s new project, and the upcoming announcements of James Gunn’s and Peter Safran’s 10-year plan, dear readers.