Is Jason Momoa playing Lobo in the DCU?
Warner Bros./DC Jason Momoa joined DC as Aquaman, but the times may be a-changing – the sequel is set to close the book on the SnyderVerse, and with James Gunn leading the DCU, he may be playing Lobo instead. Here’s what we know.
Momoa joined the DCEU in 2016’s Batman v Superman, making a short cameo on Wonder Woman’s screen as she perused Lex Luthor’s encrypted files. He returned in “Josstice League” before getting his own billion-dollar movie with Aquaman, and later reprising the role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
However, when he first received the call from Snyder to join the franchise, he thought he’d be playing another character: Lobo, the “Biggest Bastich of the Universe.”
So, who is Lobo, and will we see Jason Momoa playing him in the new DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran? Well… maybe – but let’s get into it.
Who is Lobo in DC?
Lobo is an intergalactic bounty hunter from the Utopian planet Czarnia, known as the Last Czarnian and “The Main Man”, as well as the “one who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it” – the latter description comes from the translation of his name in an ancient Khund dialect.
He made his DC Comics debut in Omega Men #3 in 1983, but his origin was later retconned and redeveloped. In 1990, he reappeared in Lobo: The Last Czarnian, his own four-issue mini-series which scrapped earlier elements of the character, instead making him more of a parody of Wolverine and The Punisher.
“I killed every living thing on Czarnia fer fun. I killed Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny an’ things that don’t even exist, an’ so help me, I tried ta follow th’ triple-fold path o’ peace. I tried my best… but frag me for a bastich, even I got limits,” he says in the comic.
As per DC, Lobo “rides around the spaceways on his ‘space cycle,’ which he named Spacehog, [and] exhibits all the traits someone would associate with a biker in a Hell’s Angels-style motorcycle gang on Earth, from his long hair and tattoos, down to his kill or be killed attitude.”
He’s more of an anti-hero than villain, having fought alongside the good guys and the bad, “pretty much just drifting towards whoever pays him the most to get the job done, or which side promises him the better, bloodier fight.”
Notably, he’s clashed with Aquaman, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.
What are Lobo’s powers?
Lobo’s powers are wide-ranging and ridiculous, including but not limited to: immortality, superhuman strength and stamina, invulnerability (to the point he can live unaided in the vacuum of space), super-speed, possession, and expert combat and marksmanship.
He uses a smattering of weapons, but his signature weapon is his large chained hook, which he uses to impale opponents, tie them up, and drag them behind this bike.
What has Jason Momoa said about Lobo?
In 2016, Momoa revealed his initial thoughts when Zack Snyder approached him to play Aquaman. “Dude, there was a lot of things that went through my head when he said Aquaman,” he said, as per Comic Book Movie.
“I was thinking like, Lobo. I’m gonna play some kind of bad guy… and he said Aquaman. I was just like, ‘Come again? Pardon me?’ And then he explained why. I was like, ‘Whoa, buddy. I got your back.'”
Later speaking to BadTaste.it, he was asked which character he’d like to see in Aquaman 2. “Lobo… yeah, a villain,” he said.
“I couldn’t even be more random for Aquaman, you know, with the blonde hair… Lobo I could see.”
Speculation around Momoa playing Lobo spiked with a recent social media post, where he revealed his “dream” project was finally in development following James Gunn and Peter Safran’s takeover of DC Studios.
“Alright this needs to be documented… the greatest news, some of the greatest news of my life just happened. I can’t say anything about it,” he said.
“F*ck yes! Argh! I can’t wait to share with you but they won’t let me share with you… you know who you are… mwah Maestro!”
Is Jason Momoa playing Lobo… and is Zack Snyder returning?
In short, maybe – but it hasn’t been confirmed if Jason Momoa is switching roles to Lobo under James Gunn’s DCU.
After Gunn joined Mastadon, the first image he posted was one of Lobo. “Glad to be here,” he wrote.
Comic Book then caught up with Momoa for his new Netflix movie Slumberland and asked about Gunn’s post. “Well, everyone knows I’m a comic book fan. The comic I collected the most, and I have every comic there is… you can do your research and find out what it is,” he said, after seeming rather surprised at Gunn’s Lobo reference.
It had been a bit quiet on the Lobo front until a recent, explosive Aquaman 2 report from Variety, which cites a source who claims Momoa is in negotiations to ditch the King of Atlantis to play Lobo in Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted franchise.
What about Snyder? The former DCEU director was once referred to as the “maestro” by Ezra Miller, leading fans to believe his return could be on the horizon.
However, Momoa told CinemaBlend this isn’t the case. “Those two have no relation. It was two days of amazing news. That one is like beyond, that one trumps the DC one,” he said.
“You have to dig deeper. It’s the Holy Grail. And it’s different than the DC thing. And I really can’t say anything. That’s it,” he added.
We’ll update this article upon further teases and announcements about Lobo. Find out more about Aquaman 2 here check out our other superhero hubs below:
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