Jason Momoa was ‘absolutely baffled’ by positive response to Aquaman film
Jason Momoa has admitted that he was “baffled” by the positive reception to Aquaman.
The Game of Thrones star played the titular superhero in the 2018 film, which is based on the DC Comics character.
A follow-up film, titled Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is due for release in December, with the trailer being teased earlier this week.
In a new interview, however, Momoa has said that he feels apathetic towards the films.
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I was absolutely baffled that Aquaman was received so well,” he told Men’s Health.
“I’ve done things that are amazing that no one sees and no one gives a s*** about. You just don’t know in this business.”
Stressing that he didn’t go into jobs thinking “Oh, I’m gonna get US$1 billion on this one”, but rather went in to “do my best job”, Momoa added: “It’s not that I don’t care about Aquaman; it’s a wonderful character.
“Aquaman is probably the hardest character in comic-book history. He’s made fun of and ridiculed, but I tried to give it heart and soul, and I’m proud of it in certain ways.
“Do I feel pressure for [the sequel] to do well? No. All I can do is give it my all. But it’s in a lot of other people’s hands.”
The first trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was shown at CinemaCon this week, with Amber Heard reportedly making a brief appearance.
The actor appeared in the 2018 film as Mera, a princess with magical powers and Aquaman’s love interest. However, Heard’s role in the sequel came under question following her high-profile defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp last year.
Depp won his multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Heard after a jury ruled that her 2018 Washington Post article titled “I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change” was defamatory.
Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10m (£8.2m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4.1m) in punitive damages. She was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in damages in a counterclaim against Depp after his lawyer’s “hoax” usage was also found to be defamatory.
During the trial, Heard testified that her part in the film was significantly cut down after Depp’s legal team called her abuse claims a “hoax”.
“I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film,” she said.
Deadline reported that Heard “does have a cameo” in the trailer, “but in a battle scene”.
