When news surfaced that Jason Momoa co-wrote the story for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the Aquaman actor said: “It’s pretty much all me, and I love it. I’m extremely proud of it.” Momoa took the stage at the CCXP convention in São Paulo, Brazil on Sunday to reflect on his reign as the underwater king — a reign that will come to an end when Aquaman 2 concludes the DC Extended Universe. Joined by his co-stars Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and story co-writer and director James Wan, Momoa noted that his tenure as the aquatic hero is “the longest I’ve ever played a character.”
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“There’s a lot of things you want to do and fulfill as an actor, and also for the fans, and for myself. When we finished the first one, I had a lot of ideas. And I started to put them down, just put down in my heart and my love for the character. Then we got a meeting with DC and Warners and James [Wan],” Momoa explained. The actor then recalled the “nerve-racking” experience pitching his story idea for the follow-up to DC Films’ first billion-plus grossing film.
“I’ve never done that before. I pitched my own idea but I’m like, ‘They can’t fault me on this, because I love this character and I’ve played it for so long. Here’s some ideas that I would like to do.’ And they responded really well to it, and then James liked a lot of ideas, and then they took that and ran with it and took it to another level.”
Momoa broke the film’s story with Braven and The Last Manhunt writer Thomas Pa’a Sibbett. Also credited is the story writing team of Wan and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who penned the script. Like Arthur Curry — the half-merman, half-human hero who is between the underwater and surface worlds — Momoa found himself in two worlds as he played the character in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League before returning for Wan’s Aquaman.
“The cool thing about it is, it’s not just like I’m hired to do a job. I love this character,” Momoa added. “He was made fun of so much. And to bring this character back, and go from Zack’s world into James’ world — it’s been me for so long. I’m really proud for everyone to see this movie because we all really shine.”
Momoa described the Aquaman sequel as a “brothers’ journey” partnering Arthur with his scorned half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who attempted to rule the surface world as the Oceanmaster before he was defeated by Aquaman. Together, the brothers must thwart the vengeful Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who now wields the powerful Black Trident: a mythical weapon capable of destroying their kingdom, the world — and Aquaman’s family. That means Arthur’s son with Mera (Amber Heard), heir to the throne of Atlantis.
“I’m a dad, and I get to be the father now,” Momoa said, adding The Lost Kingdom explores “responsibility, and weight, and what it means to be a father and a king.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens in theaters December 22.
