From the casting of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman to Jason Momoa as Aquaman, sometimes Zack Snyder totally gets stuff right and we should be more thankful.
After Batman v Superman, people pretty much wanted Zack Snyder to be as far removed from DC Comics movies as possible. While there certainly were some narrative issues here and there, we all agreed that, at the very least, Gal Gadot nailed her barely-there debut as Wonder Woman. A year later, she went on to stun the entire world in her solo film … without anyone really giving all that much credit to Zack Snyder for casting her in the first place. Even Patty Jenkins wasn’t initially on board with Gadot, but thanks in part to Snyder, we enjoyed one of the greatest superhero films of all time this past summer.
As a whole, the Justice League casting choices are divisive at best. People either don’t like Henry Cavill’s performance as Superman or perhaps wonder what Ray Fisher will ultimately bring to the table as Cyborg. However, the most surprising choice might’ve been Jason Momoa as Aquaman. Simply because he wasn’t a well-known actor, and of course, everyone loves to make fun of Aquaman.
But according to the L.A. Times, the Snyders (which include Zack and his producing partner and wife, Deborah) wanted Jason Momoa from the moment they first laid eyes on him. Apparently, the conversation sprang up while watching TV, as Mrs. Snyder explains:
"We’re big ‘Game of Thrones’ fans. I remember Jason Momoa [as Dothraki chieftain Khal Drogo]. Zack was like, ‘Jason would be the perfect Aquaman.’ I was like, ‘It’s so out of the box. But yeah!’ He can be tough. And he feels like he comes from the water."
He’s Hawaiian, Deb. So I can see how you’d get that aquatic impression.
Obviously, this “out of the box” choice combined with James Wan’s masterful directing skills could prove to be exactly what the DCEU needs to make Aquaman a real contender.
But here’s where it gets more interesting. Further along in the article, Deborah Snyder also says:
"For movies with these superheroes you have a lot of kids [watching] and they become role models for kids. They become role models for adults too, but what’s different for the kids is they can’t necessarily distinguish between the character and the actor. Casting the person who was going to play the role was really important to us because it means a lot more. It’s not like a typical role an actor has. It’s magical when it works."
I absolutely agree with this statement. (In fact, I just touched on it yesterday.) Every day, we wake up and hear a new allegation about such and such, and Jason Momoa isn’t immune to that. And we all know that Ben Affleck has his fair share of problems, too. So it’s interesting to get a peek at how this team came together.
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Justice League doesn’t open in theaters until next week, so it may be a little early to say whether Momoa makes a good Aquaman or not. But he seems fun in the trailers, and that’s a good start.