In recent weeks, a lot of breaking movie and TV news has struck later in the day than usual. Of course, there’s no set pattern for Hollywood’s behavior, but casting and greenlight exclusives are definitely on the rise during twilight hours. This swift change hasn’t bypassed the actors who work within the industry, either, as Aquaman star Jason Momoa was just as taken aback as the rest of us when his Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice director Zack Snyder posted the first image of Momoa as the underwater king.
“That was a shocker for sure,” he told Entertainment Weekly (via CBM) when he first saw the snap online. “It was supposed to be a surprise in 2016, so it definitely helps. I’ve been holding that secret for a long time. Zack Snyder called me up and said, “I’m posting this picture now.” He’s just a genius and I love him to death. He sent it over and we’re in the middle of the editing suite for the thing I’m doing right now, and we all freaked out, man. It was so amazing to see it come out.”
During that recent sit down with EW, Momoa spilled the beans on a variety of Aquaman-related information. Namely, has he shot anything action-packed for BvS?
“No, we haven’t done too much on the action yet. You know, Justice League is still quite a ways away. But I’m looking forward to it. Henry’s a sweetheart, Ben is a badass, so I’m really looking forward to when we all shoot Justice League.”
In a follow-up question that ties in nicely to last week’s buzz about the size of the part, he spoke about Aquaman’s first onscreen appearance in BvS:
“Well, it’s Batman and Superman, it’s not my movie. It’s the first time in history to have them both on the screen together, and I’m just excited to see those two up there.”
Momoa then addressed the speculative chatter that spawned after Man Of Steel, which may or may not have included some easter eggs alluding to his future character:
“Well, you know, I think that’s left for the genius of Snyder to kind of reveal that. There’s definitely a plan in this whole universe that he’s designing, and it’s amazing to be a part of it. I think everything that you see that is building, there’s a purpose behind the whole plan. So I wouldn’t want to take anything away from Zack, because he loves revealing all those things. And… you never know, man.”
Lastly, he summed up his experience working with Snyder in building the Aquaman character, and how his experience has been thus far:
“The whole mythology of Aquaman is pretty amazing. There’s so many things to tell, and there’s a whole backstory that’s just amazing. There’s a lot of surprises coming. I think, yeah, he’s been cast aside. But, um [laughs] times are going to change now, buddy… What’s great about this is Zack, man. We don’t want to just reinvent it, but he’s a got a whole idea of what Aquaman should be and I’m really honored to be playing it. I’m excited for the world to see it.”
The world will finally see Momoa’s Aquaman in next year’s superhero team-up, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which is scheduled to arrive on March 25, 2016. The solo Aquaman movie will swim into theaters on July 27, 2018.