While Marvel and DC fans have been going at each other for decades, “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa doesn’t see a need to pick sides.
When TheWrap asked the actor about the competition between Marvel and DC on the big screen while attending the red carpet for Season 3 of Momoa’s Apple TV+ series “See,” he pointed out that both bring something different to the table.
“I don’t think Marvel has an Aquaman and we don’t have a Guardians of the Galaxy, we don’t have a Thor,” Momoa said. “I think we should just enjoy the movies that we all worked so hard to make. I look at Robert Downey and Hemsworth’s amazing, they’re just my brothers out there making great content. So I don’t really compare, myself. There’s only one me, bro.”
Momoa made his DC debut as Aquaman (aka Arthur Curry) with a cameo in 2016’s “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which was followed by his own solo film in 2018 from director James Wan. “Aquaman” still stands as the highest-grossing movie of the DC Cinematic Universe so far, and Momoa reprises the role in the sequel “Aqaman and the Lost Kingdom” next May.
The follow-up finds much of the original cast – including Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – reprising their roles, with Ben Affleck also making an appearance as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe got off the ground fairly smoothly, solidifying itself as a well-oiled machine by the time they got to 2012’s “The Avengers,” the interconnected universe of DC films has had a tougher time taking liftoff. Originally, the “DCEU” as it’s called was being shepherded by Zack Snyder, but after the disappointing critical and commercial performance of “Batman v. Superman,” the production of Snyder’s team-up movie “Justice League” went south, resulting in him being replaced as director and eventually releasing his (far superior) “Snyder Cut” on HBO Max years later.
That’s not to say DC hasn’t been without its bright spots, “Aquaman” among them. “Wonder Woman” was also acclaimed and well-received at the box office, and “Guardians of the Galaxy” writer/director James Gunn’s 2021 film “The Suicide Squad” was well-received also. And just this year, director Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson rebooted the Caped Crusader in the hit “The Batman,” for which a sequel is currently in active development.
So yes, there are differences between the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, but as Momoa maintains, the best course of action for fans at this point is to simply enjoy the movies as they come.
Elijah Gil contributed to this report.
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