Though Zack Snyder likely directed his final DCEU movie with last year’s Justice League, Jason Momoa has made it all too clear that he’s still a fan of the man for the role he played in shaping this superhero saga, and in one recent interview, the Aquaman star expressed his gratitude to the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice helmsman for bringing him into the franchise.
Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Momoa recalled how the DCEU’s first few years were primarily Snyder’s vision, and that included the casting for Arthur Curry.
“He had it all planned out,” Momoa said. “He had the plan for Justice League. I really do believe that Cyborg and Wonder Woman, and all that has been shaped, is because of Zack. I’m definitely here and owe everything to that man because I wouldn’t have been cast if not for him. I think that it was a genius idea to go in this direction with this character, and it’s been an honor. I’ve had people from all over the world — people from Argentina, people from Colombia, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, just all over, telling me ‘How crazy and cool is this to have a brown-skinned superhero?’”
Though Snyder’s work on the series has proven divisive with viewers, Momoa has repeatedly gone on record paying thanks to the filmmaker, even admitting recently to being among the fans obsessed with the fabled “Snyder Cut” of Justice League.
As the Hawaii-born actor hints in the above quote, the casting of Momoa as Aquaman marked a diversion from the typical appearance of the character in the comic books, as well as big screen superheroes in general. In fact, when the star was called back after his audition for the part – which he’d been told was for the role of Batman – the actor reportedly figured he was being eyed for a villain, and when Snyder told him what character he’d really auditioned for, Momoa had to keep his surprising role a secret for two years.
Cut to the present day, and while Zack’s involvement in future DCEU movies is unlikely to go much beyond producing credits, Momoa finally has the spotlight all to himself, and you can see how he fares when Aquaman hits theaters on December 21st.