After last year’s Justice League failed to meet expectations at the box office, the DCEU has been the focus of an ongoing stream of reports suggesting that the superhero saga is in a period of transition. And as the studio makes plans for a whole load of upcoming projects focused on a new generation of super-powered leads, it sounds like Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill have each exited from their respective roles as Batman and Superman. If the news is all true, however, then both actors have the sympathies of their old co-star Jason Momoa.
Though the Aquaman lead has recently reaffirmed that he’d be game to reprise his role as Arthur Curry for future movies, he also understands if Affleck and Cavill don’t feel the same, sharing his thought in an interview with HuffPost.
“If they’re both out, then listen: It’s just the place they’re at in their careers. I mean, how many has Henry done? He’s done three?” Momoa said. “Yeah, I mean, like, you want to move on. I think if I did… sh-t, I have done three.”
While Momoa is technically correct here, Aquaman’s role in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was little more than a cameo intended to tease his larger part in Justice League, which in itself didn’t have a whole lot of time to dedicate to the character.
Meanwhile, though Cavill helped kick off the DCEU as the star of 2013’s Man of Steel, Affleck is reportedly departing before he’s had a chance to show us what he can do in a Batman solo movie. Nonetheless, Momoa went on to stress that the two actors have already done enough for the franchise, and that he has some good memories of working on Justice League with the pair.
“I mean, Henry wants to just expand on something,” Momoa said. “Ben is an amazing director that is of age, and probably he’s done enough. I don’t know how to speak on behalf of them, but I had the time of my life [on Justice League].”
With Superman seemingly out of the picture, and Matt Reeves’ The Batman looking to be a long way off from release, Momoa has the opportunity to make a case for Aquaman as a major screen hero in his own right, which he’ll be doing when his solo debut hits theaters on December 21st.
