Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a.k.a. Aquaman 2, maybe the last time fans will see Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis.
Has Jason Momoa left Aquaman?
Jason Momoa is still the star of the Aquaman film series, but a new scoop claims that the actor is leaving the role after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hit theaters on December 25th, 2023.
In a response to a tweet by a fellow scooper about the badly received test screenings for Aquaman 2, reliable insider Jeff Sneider wrote that he heard the movie is “terrible” and that’s why Momoa is exiting the movie series to play a different DC character named Lobo.
“I hear it’s terrible and that’s why Momoa is gonna be Lobo going forward,” Sneider tweeted in February 2023. “But they can’t say that yet because then it would be a lame duck… and DC is hoping to wring another billion out of the box office. First one was awful too, so not a huge surprise.”
Aquaman 2 has held six test screenings so far and the film reportedly performed poorly during this round of previews.
“I’ll be honest, we’re half a dozen test screenings in and it’s not looking great,” insider ViewerAnon wrote on Reddit. “I’ve consistently heard over the last half year or so that it’s boring, not as good as the first, and potentially one of the worst DCEU movies.”
ViewerAnon’s report has been backed up by fellow scooper Big Screen Leaks (BSL), who tweeted that the test screenings for the sequel “have not been good”. BSL hopes director James Wan can fix the film before its theatrical release in December 2023.
While it’s not exactly clear how bad Aquaman 2 is, The Direct reported that “people walked out” during the test screenings.
Reports about Aquaman 2’s poor performance in test screenings spell bad news for Warner Bros. Discovery. As fans can remember, Dwayne Johnson’s 2022 movie Black Adam also performed poorly during its round of previews, which resulted in a dismal outing at the box office.
But there’s still hope for the DC Universe, because Blue Beetle and The Flash received positive reviews from their respective test screenings, with the latter reportedly being “extraordinarily well-received” by the audience.
Will Jason Momoa be in Aquaman 2?
Yes. Jason Momoa is in Aquaman 2. The actor reprises his role as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, in the upcoming movie, which serves as a sequel to the 2018 movie Aquaman. In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Aquaman forges an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to save Atlantis and the rest of the planet. You can watch the first-look trailer for the film below:
Will Jason Momoa be in Aquaman 3?
While it’s been previously reported that Jason Momoa thought of Aquaman as a trilogy, Aquaman 3 is not official yet. DC Studios co-chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran said that the future of Momoa and his character Aquaman in the DC Universe (DCU) will be decided after the release of Aquaman 2.
Momoa made his first appearance as Aquaman in 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in the titular roles. And in an interview in January 2023, it looked like Momoa isn’t ready to let go of the role yet. “I’ll always be Aquaman. Ain’t anyone coming in there and taking shit,” Momoa said at the time, before teasing that he may end up playing another DC character. “There might be some other characters, too. I can play other things, too. I can be funny and savage and charming.”
This comment sparked speculations among fans that Momoa may be taking a dual role in the DCU, playing Aquaman and Lobo at the same time. One of Momoa’s dream roles, Lobo is a big anti-hero in DC Comics. Lobo is a cosmic mercenary and bounty hunter who tends to rub some heroes the wrong way. Interestingly, there are rumors claiming that Lobo will be the villain for 2025’s Superman: Legacy, which is the first key movie in the first chapter of the upcoming new DCU under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Gunn and Safran, however, confirmed in an interview published on DC.com that Momoa would not play both characters in a dual role in the franchise.
“Jason will not play two characters,” Gunn said. “But we’ll figure it out after Aquaman 2.”
Safran added, “It’s too early to say. Jason always thought Aquaman was a trilogy in his own mind, but he also loves Lobo. He’s been very clear about that too. [But] he’s never going to play two characters.”
Has Amber Heard been replaced in Aquaman 2?
No. Amber Heard has not been replaced in Aquaman 2. But her character, Mera, has a smaller role in the sequel compared to the first film.
Why Amber is removed from Aquaman 2?
As mentioned above, Amber Heard has not been removed from Aquaman 2. While there had been rumors that DC decided to replace Heard in the role of Mera following the aftermath of the very public court case between the actress and her ex-husband Johnny Depp, a rep for the actress had debunked speculations that she’s been cut from the movie.
“The rumor mill continues as it has from day one — inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane,” Heard’s spokesperson told The Blast in June 2022.
How many Aquaman movies are there?
As of 2023, there are two Aquaman movies starring Jason Momoa in the titular role. The first one, Aquaman, was released in 2018. Its sequel Aquman and the Lost Kingdom is set to open in theaters on December 25th, 2023.
How much did Jason Momoa get paid for Aquaman?
According to a 2022 report by Variety, Jason Momoa would be getting $15 million for starring in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. That amount was said to be two times higher than what he was paid for the first film, which means the actor earned around $7.5 million for his first solo outing as Aquaman.