'Aquaman' Star Jason Momoa Met With Marvel's Russo Brothers About a Villain Role

After becoming the breakout hit in Justice League, Jason Momoa gets his own solo film this December with Aquaman, yet he almost became a star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor confirmed that he had a meeting with the Russo Brothers to play a villain, which likely would have been Crossbones in Captain America: Winter Soldier, but negotiations eventually fell through.

"I met the Russo brothers, who are amazing. It was one of the best meetings I've ever had," Momoa shared with Entertainment Weekly when asked if there were other superhero roles he wanted to play. "I was going to do something with them, which unfortunately didn't work out."

Joe and Anthony Russo have directed Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War, with Winter Soldier being the only film to introduce any substantial villains. That film delivered audiences Brock Rumlow and Batroc the Leaper, with Rumlow eventually going on to appear in the opening of Civil War.

The timing of Momoa being announced as Aquaman would also likely have been after meetings for Winter Soldier took place, while Civil War and Infinity War began shooting well after Momoa's involvement in the DC Extended Universe was confirmed.

As far as what role it was for, Momoa wasn't certain, noting, "I don't know. It was going to be a villain, I think. People always want to hire me to play a villain, you know?"

The actor also went on to describe that he auditioned to be part of Guardians of the Galaxy, which was another fulfilling opportunity.

"I did an audition for Guardians of the Galaxy, which was super cool," the actor recalled. "I got to audition with [Chris Pratt], who's just a legend and a gentleman. That didn't work out."

It was ultimately an audition for Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that resulted in his casting as Aquaman, in which he had a brief cameo, before becoming a prominent member of the Justice League.

"Then really the other one after that was my audition for Batman with Zack. And I almost didn't go because I was like, 'This is bulls–t. I'm not a white guy. I ain't playing Batman,'" the actor joked. "Even if I do, I don't even want to. It's like an American playing James Bond, you know? I almost didn't do it. I thought for sure I was going to be playing [DC Comics villain] Lobo or something. The only people I knew they were casting for were Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman — who the hell am I going to play? So in the meeting, I just played it as if Batman had died in an alley and some thug picked up his suit and put it on. I just played him as a smart ass, jaded and sarcastic. And that's when Zack was like, 'I have an idea…'"

You can see more of Momoa's superheroics when Aquaman hits theaters on December 21st.

Do you wish Momoa had joined the MCU instead of the DCEU? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]