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It’s official: Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa has been tapped to play Lobo in the new cinematic DC Universe. After years of speculation, the actor confirmed his casting as the intergalactic bounty hunter via an Instagram post, with a simple caption reading, “They called.” DCU-head James Gunn validated this with his own post, a picture of Lobo smoking a cigar. The character is now set to make his debut in 2026’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, opposite fellow Westeros-performer Milly Alcock as the eponymous hero with Cruella (2021) and I, Tonya (2017) director Craig Gillespie at the helm.
First appearing in DC Comics in 1983, Lobo gained major notoriety after a revival in the 1990s where the brutish villain was reinvented as a stylized mercenary. Sporting a biker gang aesthetic that contrasted with his alien appearance, Lobo quickly rose to prominence as the lead of his own comic series beginning in 1990. The character has since become a staple of the greater DC Universe. He even made his live-action debut in the short-lived Syfy show Krypton, played there by Emmett J. Scanlan.
There’s no denying that Jason Momoa is an inspired casting choice to portray Lobo. The actor has displayed a passion for the character in the past, and despite not being an alien himself, the physical resemblance to Lobo is uncanny (look at that hair!). Momoa additionally has significant experience playing a comic book icon. In fact, Momoa was one of the most popular faces of the so-called DC Extended Universe, which was largely designed by director Zack Snyder. Momoa was introduced like most of the DCEU’s Justice League castings in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Momoa arguably went on to be the most popular among them, with his first solo Aquaman movie grossing $1.1 billion in 2018.
… But, then, is his prior involvement with the old DCEU going to prevent audience members from accepting this casting stroke?
Actors crossing over into multiple comic book universes is nothing new. Just a handful of weeks ago, Aaron Taylor-Johnson did it as Kraven the Hunter after previously playing Quicksilver in the MCU, as seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). The highest profile example of this is Chris Evans, who transitioned from The Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005) to Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Audiences worldwide had no issue embracing Evans as a different superhero, even of the Marvel variety, with his take on Captain America garnering significant acclaim.
Meanwhile some of the biggest stars of DC films have crossed the street over to rival Marvel Studios, with two Batman actors, Michael Keaton and Christian Bale, slipping into the shoes of villains in the MCU, as Vulture and Gorr the God Butcher, respectively. Fellow Batman Ben Affleck did the opposite as the actor initially brought Matt Murdock to the big screen in the heavily maligned Daredevil (2003). Affleck’s Daredevil co-star Collin Farrell, who portrayed Bullseye in the film, can now be seen waddling around as the Penguin in Matt Reeve’s The Batman universe.
The key distinction with the promulgation of Jason Momoa as Lobo is the proximity to his last appearance as Aquaman in the now-defunct DCEU. Just this time last year, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) was scrapping together as much at the box office as possible in the waning moments of that cinematic universe. Momoa is also intrinsically tied to the old DCEU, with his first solo outing as Aquaman (2018) being the only film in the franchise to gross over $1 billion. In fact, Arthur Curry made a cameo appearance in the Peacemaker TV show, which will receive a new season officially set in the new DCU, adding more confusing fuel to the canonical fire of the rebooted universe.
Will general audiences be able to accept Momoa as an entirely different character in the new DCU so soon after Aquaman bookended the DCEU? History suggests that, yes, they should. There will undoubtedly be some confusion about what’s canon and what’s not in the new universe, something James Gunn has already addressed on numerous occasions, but Momoa’s new turn as Lobo has the opportunity to win back viewers heavily frustrated by the previous regime at DC, and the wasted potential of the charismatic movie star.
Nobody seemed that confused about why Superman’s dad was Zeus in the MCU since both characters were played by Russell Crowe. The announcement of Robert Downey Jr. returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom set the pop culture world on fire, and he’ll be in the same universe he already commanded in the previous decade. There’s a level of acceptance that actors are actors, not the characters, like theater troupes before it, or in the musical Hamilton where performers such as Daveed Diggs and Anthony Ramos switch roles with just an intermission between them.
A face full of alien makeup should help, but moviegoers will be ready for Jason Momoa to reinvent himself as Lobo on the big screen, just as the comic book character did in the 1990s.
Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow arrives with Lobo on June 26, 2026.
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