Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's first wave of reviews were not good and, if current box office tracking is any indication, the sequel - and final DCEU movie - l is in store for a disastrous weekend.
Earlier this week, Jason Momoa confirmed his time as DC's King of Atlantis has ended when he said his future as Arthur Curry is "not looking too good." Now, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran - who also produced the Aquaman movies - has chimed in.
"When I think of Jason in this role, he is the definitive Aquaman," the executive told The Hollywood Reporter. "He’s redefined it. It’s really been an 11 or 12-year journey for him - a lot of the audience doesn’t realize that he was cast so long ago. It’s kind of redefined him. When he took this role he was known as Khal Drogo, and now he’s really Aquaman."
Safran would go on to say he hopes fans "will really be here to support him [Momoa] in this journey. If it’s the end of the journey, fine. If it goes on, that’s also fine, but I think it has meant so much to him. The way [director] James [Wan] crafted this second film, it feels like a very complete story when you watch the two films together."
"We’ll see what happens with him beyond it," he added. "I know that Jason will always have a home at DC, and at Warner Bros. In fact, his next movie is Minecraft."
These comments are a little strange, especially when DC Studios has essentially fired Momoa as Aquaman. It's also unclear why he isn't being given another chance in the DCU when the likes of John Cena (Peacemaker), Sean Gunn (Weasel), and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) are, especially as 2018's Aquaman was a $1 billion hit.
Safran and James Gunn might have decided Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is bad enough that moviegoers won't want to see this iteration of Arthur Curry again. Whether that leads to Momoa being given the opportunity to play the DCU's Lobo remains to be seen.
"The truth of it is, I mean, if the audience loves it, then there’s a possibility," Momoa said of possibly playing Aquaman again. "But right now, I’m like, 'It’s not looking too good.'"
"I love this character and [I would want to] play it for a long time. I kind of see where I would want it to go. And even in the next 10 years or so, like there’s a lot of cool things they can do. And I do enjoy the role and the world. So, I mean, it just comes down to if people love it."
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now playing in theaters.