Prior to his new role in the DCU as Lobo, Jason Momoa rose to prominence in the entertainment industry as Aquaman. Following his brief debut in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Momoa returned as the character for a starring role a year later in Justice League. He then got to shine on his own in 2018's Aquaman, and five years later, in its sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
With his time as the character in the past, one wouldn't necessarily expect new looks at him as Arthur Curry to come around. Surprisingly, thanks to Zack Snyder, we now, in fact, have a new look at the actor as the aquatic hero. Continuing his series of DC portraits, Snyder took to Instagram to share a never-before-seen BTS image of Jason Momoa's Aquaman.
Similar to previous pictures he's posted of Ben Affleck's Batman, Jared Leto's Joker and Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke, the picture is in black and white:
The director captioned the photo with: "I took this photo of [Jason Momoa] in Iceland." Justice League was partially filmed in Iceland, so it's safe to say the picture is from when the superhero team-up was in production.
When it was first announced, Momoa's casting as the character caught some fans by surprise. At the time, the actor was known for his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, so he was perceived as having a significantly gruffer look than the one Aquaman has most commonly been associated with throughout the years. Funnily enough, it was his role in Game of Thrones that prompted Zack Snyder to cast Momoa as the hero.
Speaking to the L.A. Times (via CBR), Zack Snyder's longtime producing partner, Deborah Snyder, revealed that the Man of Steel director got the inspiration to cast Momoa as Aquaman while watching the HBO series:
"We're big Game of Thrones fans... I remember Jason Momoa. Zack was like, 'Jason would be the perfect Aquaman.' I was like, 'It's so out of the box. But yeah! He can be tough. And he feels like he comes from the water.'"
For his part, Momoa credits the role of Aquaman with saving his career. During a 2018 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor revealed that he struggled to find work following his stint on Game of Thrones, given that many people assumed he did not speak English:
"That whole audition process was pretty crazy. I mean, Zack [Snyder] was a huge fan of Game of Thrones. A lot of people are huge fans of Game of Thrones. And Zack was the one that... I couldn't get a job, and Zack called me in, and he was a huge fan, and he wanted to take Aquaman, who... It was funny, because I had no idea what I was gonna be playing. He just called me in, I had to audition, it was for Batman. Obviously Ben [Affleck] was cast, and I'm like, 'What am I coming [in for]?' [...] I'm like, 'I'm just gonna basically be the bad guy. I'm gonna fight Batman and Superman [...] I'm gonna play the villain. And he's like, 'Wait, no... Aquaman.'"
Jason Momoa will return to the DC Universe as Lobo in Supergirl, which flies into theaters on June 26, 2026.
What did you think about Snyder's new picture of Jason Momoa? How excited are you to see him take on Lobo in Supergirl next year?