Warner Bros. has been trying to distance themselves from the Zack Snyder era of the DC Extended Universe leading into already blowing away the box office in China before it even hits the US market, the movie's star wants everyone to the director who started it all.
The DC Extended Universe is in a state of limbo after the abysmal performance of Snyder's eventual departure following a family tragedy. He was replaced by Joss Whedon, who oversaw weeks of reshoots to fundamentally change the tone and story of the movie, resulting in a Frankenstein monster that barely resembled Zack Snyder's original intent.
Related: Justice League: Every Confirmed Change to Zack Snyder's Version
The movie ultimately saw middling reviews at best and it's said to be mostly in name only.
Aquaman is the biggest tonal shift the DCEU has seen yet, and while that was James Wan's intent from the beginning, it's being positioned by many as an effort to distance the franchise from Snyder. But not if Jason Momoa has anything to say about it. The Aquaman star was originally cast in the role by Zack Snyder for a cameo role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and he's quick to remind people of that, finding a way to work it into seemingly every interview possible.
It doesn't simply stop at reminding people Snyder was the one to cast him, either. He even went as far to link Aquaman to "F*** yeah, I want to see it!"
It makes sense that Momoa would be such a big fan of Zack Snyder, he's only ever had high praise for the director, especially recently.
“Really, like, I’m a soul mate with him. He’s family. I’m very indebted to that man. I invited him to my wedding. I told him to look around on my property and the things I barely held onto, because there were moments in my career where you can’t put food on the table. Not being picky and choosy, but it’s hard to make it in this business. I looked at him, and I said, ‘You see these things? These would’ve never, ever, ever have happened if it wasn’t for you.’ So Zack has a huge part of my heart.”
And it's not just Momoa, either. Everyone who's ever worked with Zack Snyder seems to have exclusively good things to say about him, and they're always enthusiastic to say it. During Comic-Con (in the middle of Justice League's infamous reshoots), Ray Fisher ripped open his shirt to reveal an "I heart Zack Snyder" t-shirt beneath it. He's also expressed a desire to see the Snyder Cut, corroborating storyboard artist Jay Oliva in saying urged fans to "believe" on the Vero social network.
Despite all this , even by Momoa, on the cusp releasing what could be the DCEUs biggest hit yet, Snyder isn't likely to return to the franchise, at least not anytime soon. The director has is even moving out of his longtime office on the Warner Bros. lot to instead work from his own brand new office in another location, where he'll begin work on some new, as yet unannounced projects.
Regardless of how things shape up for Snyder or DC films, it looks like Jason Momoa will continue to carry that torch to make sure that everyone knows Aquaman comes from Snyder's DNA. And while they may not work together again on a DC project, don't be surprised to see a place in a future Snyder film for Momoa.
