Last week, Warner Bros. laid all their cards on the table when they fully revealed their DC comics movie slate, going from 2016 to 2020, and with it came confirmation on a story that had been downplayed for months – former “Game of Thrones” star Jason Momoa is the King of Atlantis, Aquaman! Following the reveal, Momoa was present for a panel at Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta, Georgia where he was able to finally speak about the role.
“I was asked to play it. You know, you audition and stuff like that, but the fact is you’ve just got to keep it quiet,” Momoa said (via ComicBook.com). “You know what I mean, I was just trying to respect Warner Bros. and everyone’s wishes. I’m really, really happy that I don’t have to be quiet anymore, because that’s really hard for me.”
The Aquaman solo film is set for release on July 27, 2018, but Momoa claims he knows just as much about that film as the rest of us do.
“I don’t know the director. I know about as much as you guys know. I know the Justice League will come first. That’s really what we’re going to focus on. I’m not sure if it will be [set template=’galleryview’]–> prior to Justice League or post. I don’t know too much about it. It will probably be where he came from. It will probably be his whole origin story I would think… So I know we’re going to do Justice League first.”
Momoa also spoke about his Polynesian heritage and how that will play into his preparation for the role.
“I’ve rode some dolphins before, so I can pull on that. I did go to school for Marine Biology, but the cool thing is… the greatest thing for me is that Polynesians, our gods, Kahoali, Maui, all these water gods, so it’s really cool and a honor to be playing a [water template=’galleryview’]–> character. And there’s not too many brown superheroes, so I’m really looking forward to representing the Polynesians, the natives… My family are some of the greatest water men on earth. I’m not, but I’m going to go train with them. But it’s really an honor just being a Polynesian. And water is the most important thing in this world and we all know it. It’s cool be a part of DC’s universe. I’m really excited to be with Warner Bros., and hopefully everyone likes it. And Zack Snyder’s a genius, so I’m really excited to be hanging out with him.”
It’s long been reported that Momoa will make his big screen debut as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which debuts in theaters on March 25, 2016. Momoa will return as the king of Atlantis for Justice League Part One on November 10. 2017.