At long last, Jason Momoa is making his debut on the big screen as DC anti-hero Lobo. But temper your expectations, as he says his role in DC's Supergirl is deliberately small.
“It’s her movie,” Momoa tells The National from SushiSamba in Dubai. “I'm just in it for a little bit. I’m just there to be a little sprinkle, a dash of Lobo – to help the story.”
Attention around the character, an interstellar bounty hunter, has intensified this week, after the release of a social media teaser that offers audiences their clearest look yet at Momoa in the role.
And while his part in the film may be limited, that doesn't diminish the personal significance of the character for the actor. As Momoa explains, the reason he is such a perfect fit is that Lobo made him into the man he is today.
“I was influenced by Lobo since I was little,” Momoa says. “I had every comic and that was the comic that I loved growing up. I didn’t have a motorcycle back then, I didn’t smoke cigars, I sure didn’t have dreadlocks – but I loved that character. He was pretty gregarious in my mind.”
Momoa had a rather Lobo-esque attitude to casting as well. When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the DC cinematic universe – effectively killing the previous version, in which he played Aquaman – Momoa didn't even ask for permission.
“I didn't approach James and James didn't approach me. I just told James the second he got in the office: 'Lobo. Now. Let's do this,'” says Momoa.
This wasn't the first time he'd discussed the idea around the DC offices. In fact, when Justice League director Zack Snyder approached Momoa to join the cast, he thought it would be for his childhood favourite.
“I thought it was Lobo, but it turned out to be Aquaman. But everyone kind of knew I wanted to play Lobo, it's been an ongoing thing. Peter is really close to me – and I've known James for a while, too – so when they got the main gig, I was like: 'Lobo',” Momoa continues.
He didn't know if his message to Gunn would work, however.
“I just kind of said it. I didn't know if it was going to come true or not. I didn't know if it fits into their world. It did, which is fantastic. But they're in control of that the universe. I'm really happy that it fit in, because if anyone's going to play Lobo, it's going to be me,” he says.
There hasn't yet been a discussion of a Lobo standalone film, and Momoa is waiting to see how the character resonates when Supergirl is released on June 26.
“I know they have a lot of stuff planned out, so I think it's better to watch it come out and see how it hangs,” he says.
If a film does happen, though, he wants to be involved creatively.
“I wouldn't direct it, but I'd want to write at least part of it. I think that's always helpful,” he says.
Lobo is part of a larger career goal for Momoa. Across all his work, he's been trying to make his on-screen persona closer to his true self. So far, that's manifested in myriad ways – including A Minecraft Movie.
Much of that mission began when he met producer Cale Boyter on the set of their first collaboration, he says.
Momoa begins shooting Minecraft 2 in May
“Cale Boyter is my great buddy and producing partner. A Minecraft Movie actually began on the Dune set – the whole thing came through him,” Momoa says.
“One day, he was like: 'You're funny. Why the heck aren't you doing comedy all the time?' I said, 'Please help me.' And so we started Minecraft from the ground up, and then Street Fighter. And we have other stuff in the plans as well.”
A Minecraft Movie ended up exceeding Momoa's expectations, particularly in how Gen Alpha engaged with the project – with audiences across the world recreating call and response moments with the material.
“It was so wonderful. I've never experienced anything like that. The only time I've seen similar is with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Momoa also confirmed when the sequel, Minecraft 2 – which is set to hit cinemas in 2027 – will go into production.
“I just read the new one and I laughed out loud. It's going to be so fun – the whole idea of this thing. I'm pumped. I start in May and it can't come quickly enough.”
The actor expects a positive response to the follow-up, in line with the first, which grossed $958 million at the global box office in 2025.
“They really listen to the fans. And I think everybody's going to be happy – it's wonderful. So fun,” he says.
'Street Fighter is very campy,' says Momoa
The actor is expecting a similar response to Street Fighter, which releases in October, in which he plays the mutant Blanka.
“I think Street Fighter is going to do really well, too. It's very campy, very fun. I'm very proud of that one,” he says.
That shift towards lighter, more audience-facing work has gone hand in hand with a growing desire for ownership. Increasingly, Momoa is looking for projects where he has a stake beyond performance alone.
One such project is The Wrecking Crew, a comedy that was released on Prime Video on Wednesday, which marks a personal milestone for the actor. “That was the first script that I ever wrote,” he says. “My first treatment.”
The idea had been sitting with him for nearly two decades before it finally came together. He pitched it to his friend and collaborator Dave Bautista while the pair were working together in difficult conditions on another project. “We were sitting in the mud and blood, freezing cold, and I was like: ‘Dude, we’ve got to do a comedy.'”
The film, of which he is particularly proud, has since become something of a homecoming. His family watched it together in Hawaii, a moment Momoa describes as deeply meaningful. “Everyone’s stoked,” he says. “It’s a really beautiful thing to bring home.”
Momoa looks to the future – and perhaps Marvel
Of all the projects he's done recently, none carries the same emotional weight as Chief of War, the Apple TV historical drama centred on Hawaiian history and identity.
“It’s probably the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Momoa says. “Definitely the most impactful thing.”
The series, in which he stars and helped to develop, represents something more personal than any franchise role. He hasn’t yet been to Hawaii since its release in August, and admits he is unsure what that moment will bring. “I haven’t been home yet, so I’m very excited,” he says. “It’s going to be a totally different experience.”
He speaks about the project in generational terms – of ancestors who never saw themselves represented on screen, and of younger audiences encountering their history in a new way. “Our grandparents, our great-grandparents, they never even saw images like this,” he says. “We’ve never experienced it like this before.”
The response, he believes, could be transformative – and won't be fully felt for years to come. “It’s going to be pretty impactful for a lot of these young kids,” he says. “And that’s inspiring.”
For all the scale of his recent work, Momoa still speaks with the enthusiasm of someone who hasn’t lost his sense of wonder. Asked whether there are other worlds he’d still like to explore, he is careful not to name names – but the implication of Marvel is clear.
“There’s a franchise I wouldn’t mind joining at some point,” he says. “But that’s just for me being a kid and wanting to geek out.”
It’s a telling note to end on. After years at the centre of some of cinema’s biggest universes, Momoa still approaches his career less like a strategist than a fan – guided by instinct, curiosity and a desire to keep moving closer to himself.
And if he does in fact join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he gives a hint as to what character he would want to play: “I'll leave this to the audience to guess. I'll just say: the world, and very bad.”
