Jason Momoa On Playing Aquaman And Diversity In Superheroes
It’s no secret that there’s an inherent lack of diversity in the superhero movie genre. It seems to be a hot topic nowadays, and Joss Whedon even spoke recently on his views of sexism in the industry. Now we get to hear a bit from a different side of things with Jason Momoa, Hawaiian actor and star of the upcoming Aquaman film.
In a chat with the Daily Beast, Momoa shared his excitement about being a brown-skinned superhero in today’s world.
“I’ve had to bust a** to be in this industry. A lot of things are very black and white. Aquaman is especially cool because being a Kanaka Maoli — being Hawaiian — our Gods are Kanaloa and Maui, and the Earth is 71 percent water, so I get to represent that. And I’m someone who gets to represent all the islanders, not some blond-haired superhero. It’s cool that there’s a brown-skinned superhero.”
Anyone who’s been following DC and Warner Bros’ comic book movie announcements knows that rumors were floating around about Jason Momoa taking on the iconic (yet risky) Aquaman role for a good while. A few months back, he was finally confirmed for the role, and many who were familiar with the blond-haired character were intrigued by this unique take. Landing that role was no small feat for Momoa, and he talked about the perks of landing such a gig.
“It’s awesome as an actor to know what your future is going to be because I have children and I’ve busted my a** to put food on the table, It’s awesome knowing that I’m going to be in ‘Justice League’ because my son is the biggest Batman fan and my daughter loves Wonder Woman. It’ll be cool for them to see me in something because they’re not going to be watching ‘Game of Thrones’ or ‘Red Road’ anytime soon, but now they can see Daddy kicking a** in IMAX.”
While the standalone Aquaman film isn’t due out until 2018, we have every reason to believe Jason Momoa’s character will at least cameo in either Batman v Superman or Justice League — and chances are his role would be a great deal more than a cameo in at least one of the flicks.
Are you looking forward to DC’s new interpretation of the Aquaman character with Jason Momoa? Do you feel there is an inherent lack of diversity in the genre? Let us know your thoughts below!
