The Jason Momoa-starrer appears to be one of the last pieces on the road to finalizing contracts and getting some box office before James Gunn reboots the universe with Superman Legacy in 2025.
The character of Aquaman aka Arthur Curry is always a little “strange”. It was born as a reaction to the creation of Namor by Marvel, in those distant years when the two great superhero comic houses competed and shamelessly challenged each other for the attention of the public.
Like many other characters, Aquaman went through many changes in his story, but his path was particularly complicated: his powers and characteristics were not clear for a long time, and we saw incarnations of him who could exchange blows with Superman himself and others. He telepathically described it as a mermaid. And this slip in character has allowed the character, a core member of the Justice League, to become one of the most forgotten, forgotten and even hated characters by many fans.
However, when Warner created himself into the DC Cinematic Universe, the presence of Aquaman was not very important and some of the most powerful incarnations of the King of Atlantis were taken as a reference to transfer to the big screen. It is best defined by its power and role in recent decades. Also, the dark tone that Zack Snyder wanted to give to the DCEU required a character that was strong and far from the classic canon of the character. And even then, all of this wasn’t enough to draw the fandom’s attention to the historically abused character.
Aquaman in the DCEU: Why Jason Momoa?
Keeping the character in line with the dark and “adult” Justice League, a cornerstone of the growing cinematic universe, included having Aquaman work in his standalone films. That is, he was the only protagonist who could attract people and make them interested in his films. For that, it was imperative to find an actor with the motivation that the character lacked.
If we think of the classic and well-known image of Aquaman, we find a tall, brown-skinned Arthur Curry with light eyes and skin, with a striking Caucasian and elegant style. And there were plenty of actors who fit that role… the problem is that most of them were committed to competing brands or weren’t interested in superhero movies. But that didn’t necessarily have to be a problem.
With reference to the new 52 Aquaman, with a more rustic origin and a more introverted personality, with the right actor there was a lot of room to build a charismatic character, and the least important thing was the physical details, able to represent the power, fury and wild essence of the seven seas until we found ourselves; A better person physically. And there was one name that could not be ignored: Jason Momoa.
If we were to summarize the needs of the franchise in order to build a cinematographic universe, we would need a famous name that could appeal to the public beyond the character played, to revive a majestic, somewhat reviled character. And who besides that did not give to other franchises at that time. Of course, Jason Momoa was the perfect choice as his fame was at its peak after an exciting time on Game of Thrones.
And the truth is that he didn’t do anything wrong, despite the bad state of the DCEU when the first Aquaman movie was released, the character managed to attract a lot of positive attention, including a good percentage of those who complained. That he doesn’t physically match the archetype of the character. He brought charisma, humor and a strong presence to the character, who was all set to leave the “laughing” role for the powerful hero. And the changes to the framework made it fit perfectly with the Justice League that Snyder was drawing.
In short, Momoa plays the role perfectly, giving visibility to a character that doesn’t have it. However, with James Gunn at the wheel of the new DCEU direction, the winds of change are blowing.
The future of the DCEU
James Gunn has come up with a different vision for his cinematic universe, one that seems to have evolved into a more conventional approach to the content of the characters and is far from anything we’ve seen so far. Everything seems to point to Snyder wanting a closer approach to the classic character material than Snyder thought at the time (assuming we know what we know now about the Superman legacy) and drawing the heroes. Space Jason Momoa doesn’t seem to be spaced…at least not as Aquaman.
And the framework has changed: just because of the popularity of Momoa and everything that has covered the DCEU in recent years, the character of Aquaman is no longer relegated to the sidelines, and even the most casual fans recognize him as a hero. himself. The focus now shifts away from the characters to focus more on the stories, and these have to adapt to James Gunn’s intentions. Therefore, it is expected that we will get a young Aquaman with a figure closer to the original canon.
“The Lost Kingdom” may be Momoa’s last time playing the King of Atlantean, but who knows, going forward, he may have a character that seems to be remade in the DCEU. Only time will tell.