There were quite a few details that emerged during the enormous DC Studios Chapter 1 announcement and news tornado on January 31 that it would have been easy to miss. One that possibly fell through the cracks is that James Gunn wants the same actor to play the same character – across movies, TV, and animation. That means that any new actors signing on will be making a huge commitment.
Gunn and Peter Safran also discussed the characters and actors who still have upcoming movies left over from the old regime – Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Zachary Levi’s Shazam, Ezra Miller’s The Flash (which also includes Ben Affleck’s Batman), and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle.
As far as DC’s future with Momoa, “Jason always saw Aquaman as a trilogy,” said Safran (via Deadline). There was also buzz out there that Momoa would take on the DC role of Lobo. Asserted Gunn; “I will say we won’t have an actor playing two different roles.” This could suggest that once Momoa has wrapped Aquaman (either in two or three movies), he could potentially play Lobo – but it seems highly unlikely.
After much delay, the final four movies in the old DCEU are; Shazam! Fury of the Gods, (March 17), The Flash (June 16), Blue Beetle (August 18) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25). Blue Beetle gets the rough end of the stick here, as it’s a new character – this will hopefully be one that Gunn and Safran look at keeping on. Gunn said (as part of the giant Hollywood Reporter article) that the four leads of those films could potentially return to their roles in DCU projects down the line; “There is nothing that prohibits that from happening.”
Lobo was introduced to DC comics in the 1980s. In the 1990s, writers attempted to use Lobo as a parody of the trend towards “grim and gritty” superhero stories, but he was instead enthusiastically accepted by fans of the trend. Lobo was intended as a satire of Wolverine. Lobo’s co-creator Keith Giffen said; “I have no idea why Lobo took off… I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine hero prototype, and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy. Go figure.”
While we wait to hear more regarding the future of DC, check out our guide to the best Batman actors and the best Batman villains.