Aquaman or Lobo? Jason Momoa Was Always Meant to Be One of Them and the Proof Has Been There All Along

When the dust finally settled on the DC Extended Universe, one question lingered louder than any other in the fan conversation: did Jason Momoa ever truly fit inside the golden armor of Arthur Curry? Now that the actor is days away from his debut as Lobo in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’, that question has essentially answered itself.

The debate between Momoa’s two DC identities is not just a fun internet argument. It is a window into what happens when a performer is cast in a role that is merely good for them versus a role that seems carved from the very marrow of who they are.

Jason Momoa as Aquaman: A Billion-Dollar Role With an Asterisk

Make no mistake, Momoa’s run as the King of Atlantis produced genuine results. According to IMDb, the 2018 ‘Aquaman’ tops the DCEU box office list, earning $1.14 billion worldwide and besting films like ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Joker’, and ‘Man of Steel’. That is an extraordinary commercial achievement for a character who had historically been dismissed as one of the sillier corners of the DC universe.

But the cracks in the casting were always visible beneath the surface. ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ holds a 36% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, though the audience score sits considerably higher at 79%.

Finishing its theatrical run with $433.6 million globally, the sequel became the highest-grossing DCEU movie since the original, a figure that surprised many fans who had written it off entirely. Still, the numbers were a shadow of what the first film achieved, and no amount of charm from Momoa could fully plug the structural holes.

Momoa did the best job he could with ‘Aquaman‘ in the DCEU, but the character was never quite right for the actor. Even Momoa himself has now confirmed as much with remarkable candor.

The Lobo Dream He Never Stopped Chasing

Here is where the story gets genuinely fascinating. When Momoa was first called in by Zack Snyder, he assumed he was auditioning for a completely different role, recalling, “Who the hell would you want me to play? Because Batman versus Superman. The only person that can fight Batman and Superman is Lobo.” The fact that his instinct immediately went to Lobo says everything about his self-awareness as a performer.

DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Momoa had been discussing the role for years, stating, “He was talking about it when he was doing ‘Aquaman’ with me. He was talking about, ‘I’d rather be doing Lobo.'”

That is not a throwaway comment. That is an actor spending years inside a role he was good enough at while privately yearning for something that felt like home.

Speaking to CBR ahead of ‘Supergirl’, Momoa addressed the shift directly, saying, “This was really easy to step into, because I’m a fan. I wasn’t a fan of Aquaman. I am an absolute, since I was a child, fan of Lobo. And, obviously, I’m going to be able to play it. I’ve wanted it for so long.” That kind of admission, so close to a major release, is rare in Hollywood and speaks to just how liberated Momoa feels in this new skin.

Why ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ Changes Everything

Lobo was created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, debuting in DC Comics’ ‘Omega Men’ issue three, and was originally introduced as an alien interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter before being revived as an antihero biker in the early 1990s. The character’s irreverence, physical brutality, and darkly comedic edge align with Momoa’s natural energy in ways that the noble, oceangoing Arthur Curry simply never did.

‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’, now in production, is set to be the second film in Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe following ‘Superman’. The film stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, with Craig Gillespie directing from a script by Ana Nogueira and Matthias Schoenaerts playing villain Krem of the Yellow Hill.

Momoa himself has floated the idea that Lobo could follow a similar career arc to Aquaman, saying, “I think, just like ‘Aquaman’, it’ll work out that way. If they really love him, I’ll get my solo movie. So it’s kind of up to the fans.”

James Gunn, for his part, has made no effort to hide his enthusiasm. On the anniversary of Lobo’s casting announcement, Gunn posted online, “I’ve loved watching Jason bring him to life and can’t wait to share that with all of you.” Directors do not write things like that about actors who are merely adequate in a role.

The Fan Verdict Is Already In

Following the release of the new ‘Supergirl’ trailer, most DC fans quickly aligned around the view that they prefer Momoa as Lobo over his previous role as Aquaman, with the consensus forming that he embodies the bounty hunter more authentically than he ever did the King of Atlantis.

Fan reactions online ranged from enthusiastic to pointed, with one comment capturing the mood perfectly: “Momoa’s ‘Aquaman’ was more Lobo than Arthur Curry already.” It is a sharp observation, and one that holds up under scrutiny. The swagger, the barely-contained chaos, the gleeful physical presence, those qualities were always straining against the constraints of playing a conventional hero.

Momoa has been direct about where his heart lies, telling TODAY that playing Lobo is his “ultimate dream” and that he wanted to play the character more than he ever wanted to play Aquaman. Passion of that magnitude tends to show up on screen, and with ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ now arriving in theaters, audiences are finally going to see what happens when a performer gets the role they were always supposed to have.

Now that you have seen the trailers and know how this casting saga unfolded, do you think ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ is the film that finally proves Jason Momoa is one of the most creatively underutilized actors the DCEU ever had?