Get to know the new Aquaman with our Jason Momoa movies spotlight
For far too long, DC Comics’ king of the seven seas has been a running joke among casual comic fans. The modern version of Aquaman has done a lot to dispel the older misconceptions about his character, but next month, fans will get their first glimpse of a truly fearsome version of the character as played by Jason Momoa in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The Jason Momoa movies and TV list doesn’t just include one of DC’s iconic heroes. 18 years as a professional actor, Momoa has also played Conan the Barbarian, Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, and Ronon Dex on Stargate Atlantis, which should be more than enough to keep him busy on the comic book convention circuit for the next few decades. Nor has Momoa simply been content to be an actor. In 2014, he directed and co-wrote the feature film, Road to Paloma.
Momoa hasn’t quite broken out as a full-fledged movie star yet. However, there are quite a few Jason Momoa movies coming up, including The Bad Batch, Going Under, Braven, and of course, the Aquaman solo film.
Ahead of Batman v Superman’s release on March 25, ComingSoon.net is looking back at the 10 most memorable roles from Jason Momoa movies and television shows to date. And by the time he’s done, the Aquaman jokes may finally become a distant memory!
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Baywatch Hawaii (1999)
Momoa made his acting debut in the final two seasons of Baywatch. But this was when Baywatch was semi-rebooted as Baywatch Hawaii. Momoa portrayed Jason Ioane, the brash 19-year-old lifeguard among the new crew. Jason Ioane even had his own character arc throughout the show as he became more familiar with his Hawaiian heritage before fully embracing it.
As one of the more popular characters on Baywatch Hawaii, Momoa reprised his role for the TV reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding in 2003.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: North Shore (2004)
After Baywatch was behind him, Momoa’s next break came on the Fox drama, North Shore. Although, “prime time soap opera” is probably a better way to describe North Shore, which focused on the staff of Grand Waimea Hotel and Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii.
Momoa played a supporting character named Frankie Seau, who worked as a bartender at the hotel. Seau eventually had a relationship with Amanda Righetti’s Tessa Lewis, a semi-reformed con artist who worked as the Assistant Concierge at the hotel. You probably don’t remember this show because it only ran for a single season on Fox.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Stargate Atlantis (2005)
Among sci-fi fans, Momoa first got noticed as Ronon Dex on Stargate Atlantis. Momoa’s character was added to the series during the second season and he quickly became a fan favorite. Within the universe of the show, Ronan was a Satedan native in the Pegasus Galaxy who was relentlessly pursued by the alien Wraith before he befriended the Atlantis expedition and became one of their most valued teammates. Momoa stayed with the series through the end of its five season run.
It was this role that led fans to actively push Momoa for his critical part in Game of Thrones.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Game of Thrones (2011)
The producers of HBO‘s Game of Thrones have said that the fan campaign to get Momoa on their show is what eventually led to them him. During the first season, Momoa portrayed Khal Drogo, the fearsome Dothraki warlord who married Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). While Daenerys was originally Drogo’s unwilling bride, she eventually won his heart and his total devotion. But by the time that Daenerys was truly a Khaleesi, Drogo was felled by a festering wound and not even blood magic could restore him.
Momoa briefly reprised his role in the second season finale during a dream sequence that reunited Drogo with Daenerys.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Conan the Barbarian (2011)
In theory, Conan the Barbarian should have been Momoa’s breakout feature film, as he stepped into the role of Robert E. Howard’s famous hero. This was also the first Conan movie since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s two appearances as the character in the ‘80s.
And yet, this version of Conan the Barbarian was an epic bomb that didn’t even get $50 million worldwide. That’s one of the reasons that there was never a sequel to this film, and Schwarzenegger may reprise his role for Conan the Conqueror in a few years.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: The Red Road (2014)
Momoa made his return to television in SundanceTV’s The Red Road as Phillip Kopus, a dangerous member of the Ramapough Mountain people who often came in conflict with Martin Henderson’s Harold Jensen, a police officer in Walpole, New Jersey.
The Red Road had two six-episode seasons before it was cancelled last year.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Road To Paloma (2014)
Road to Paloma was Momoa’s passion project. He co-wrote the script, directed the film, and starred as Robert Wolf, a Native American on the run from the law after killing the man who raped his mother. In the aftermath of his mother’s death, Wolf attempted to travel north to spread her ashes while the FBI and other law enforcement officials hunted him down.
While Road to Paloma only received a limited theatrical release, it’s reviews were generally favorable.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Wolves (2014)
Momoa’s next movie was Wolves, in which he played a werewolf named Connor Slaughter who unknowingly sired Cayden Richards (Lucas Till), a young werewolf who was manipulated into believing that Connor raped his mother.
Wolves was another box office bomb, and it managed to make even less money than Road to Paloma. It was also negatively received by film critics and audiences.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
So far, very little is known about how Momoa’s Aquaman will be used in Batman v Superman, since the movie is primarily about the conflict between Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent/Superman and Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Superman. But there are rumors that Aquaman made a stealth appearance in Man of Steel when Superman was saved by whales.
Jason Momoa Movies and TV Spotlight: Aquaman (2018)
The long-awaited Aquaman movie is only two years away, if everything goes to plan. Momoa will headline the film as the title character, and Amber Heard is currently in talks to play Aquaman’s partner/lover/and later wife, Mera. James Wan will direct Aquaman and the film will be written by David Leslie Johnson. Aquaman doesn’t currently have a confirmed start date, though it is targeting a July 27, 2018 release.
