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It feels a little ridiculous to talk about the new movie Supergirl and not discuss the titular character. But with the latest DCU flick now in theaters, all eyes won’t just be on the Maid of Might – they’ll be on the Main Man, Lobo, played by Jason Momoa. And thankfully, the actor’s long audition as Aquaman in the DCEU properly prepared him for the role Momoa was born to play.
Is that unfair to say about a role Momoa played multiple times, in multiple movies (and TV shows)? Perhaps. Except, ever since the actor was announced as playing Arthur Curry way back in 2014, it seemed like an odd fit. Sure, he had played a ruler before on Game of Thrones, but the monosyllabic Khal Drogo was a far cry from any iteration of Aquaman we had seen before in the comic book source material, let alone his appearances in animated TV shows and live-action on Smallville.
Yet Momoa proceeded to make the role his own from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, all the way through the cockroach-crunching end of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But the problem was that Momoa bent Aquaman his way into a brash, joke-slinging bad-ass who shouts “my man,” gets into bar fights, and is more Momoa than Curry.
That may not entirely be an issue, because Momoa was one of the highlights of the controversial DCEU/Zack Snyder era, despite his every move seeming to be designed to specifically push back at anyone who made fun of Aquaman for talking to fish. This Aquaman was cool. He was a muscle-bound beefcake. He drinks and fights, and if you say he’s anything less than rad, he will beat you up. But it also, curiously, seemed antithetical to what Aquaman is supposed to be.
Ride or die
Which is why this all makes a lot more sense once you realize Momoa was merely paving the way for Lobo. Unlike his Fast & Furious franchise cohort Dwayne Johnson – who attempted his own hostile takeover of the DC cinematic franchise and took Henry “I would just love to play Warhammer 40k if you don’t mind” Cavill down with him – Momoa managed to pivot one of the more successful turns in the DCEU into his dream role in the DCU. Reportedly, the very morning James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the new heads of DC Studios, Momoa texted Gunn two words: “Fucking Lobo.” And Gunn somehow interpreted that mysterious text correctly and agreed, stating that he thought Momoa should have been Lobo for years.
It’s clear that through the auditions for Batman and casting as Aquaman, what Momoa really wanted was Lobo. And it’s such a better fit, as Momoa basically is Lobo, without the immortality and bloodthirstiness. The Czarnian bounty hunter, created in 1983 by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, is what it says on the tin, but it wasn’t until the ‘90s that the character found his niche as a commentary on the over-the-top dark and gritty superhero trend kicked off in part by characters like Wolverine at Marvel and Batman at DC. Momoa himself is like a walking, talking human parody, with his scraggly beard, wild hair, and 6’4 height. He’s a wild man who looks like he’d accept an invitation to party any day, any time.
That’s Lobo, and that’s exactly what Momoa captures on screen with Supergirl. Yes, he physically looks like the character walked off the comic book page, thanks only in small part to black and white makeup, red eyes, and sharp teeth. But honestly, Momoa’s inherent physicality does the majority of the work. And his delivery, delighted to see ultra-violence, taking no guff, and coaching a young girl to kill people, feels so much more natural coming out of Lobo than any of Momoa’s dialogue did with Aquaman.
The main event
Lobo’s the perfect loose cannon running through the new DCU movie, and given his relatively scant screen time, the next question is: when will we see Lobo again? A lot of that potentially depends on how Supergirl does at the box office this weekend – all signs point to “not great” – but Momoa has taken the Lobo ball this far, it’s hard to believe his dreams of being the Main Man will stop here, particularly as the actor has the strength of will that would make a Green Lantern jealous.
It’s entirely possible Lobo could stop by in the already filming Man of Tomorrow, whether in a cameo or another expanded supporting role, a la Supergirl. But it’s tricky to say beyond that because, given James Gunn’s laudable unwillingness to greenlight projects before scripts are ready, there are… Not a lot of projects greenlit.
One option? The in-development Wonder Woman reboot, which boasts Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira as screenwriter. While it would be a little weird to see Lobo only pop up as a supporting character in movies with a main, female character, given Nogueira already figured out a way to fuse Lobo into the story from comic book creators Tom King and Bilquis Evely, who is to say she couldn’t do the same for Diana?
Lobo would also fit well in the already filmed Lanterns on HBO, given Lobo often tangles with the GLs in the comics. Or he could show up in whatever is following up on the prison planet plotline of Sanctuary from Season 2 of Peacemaker… We’ve already seen Lobo in jail once, and John Cena is yet another ex-pat from the Fast & Furious franchise Momoa could tangle with. Heck, they were supposed to be in a movie called Killer Vacation together, which we haven’t heard a peep about since 2022. So this might be a way of finally getting the duo to team up.
Look, wherever Momoa goes as Lobo next, this is already a much more natural fit than Aquaman, and it’s likely audiences will respond positively (regardless of the Supergirl movie’s box office fate). So let’s make sure it isn’t another decade before we get to see mo’ Momoa in the role he was meant to play. Ya bastiches.
Supergirl is in theaters now. For more, dive into our spoiler-free Supergirl review, or catch up on the DCU to date with our guide on how to watch DC movies in order.