Jason Momoa has been cast as Aquaman in the Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel sequel/Justice League prequel Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Hitfix has confirmed the long rumored casting and claims Snyder has “already finalized his designs for the character so shooting can take place soon.” Find out more about the new Aquaman Jason Momoa after the jump.

I’ve theorized for some time that Batman’s reason for showing up in Metropolis looking for a fight with Superman might have something to do with the destruction brought upon the city. Drew McWeeny of Hitfix theorizes Aquaman is another DC universe character likely pissed off at the Man of Steel after the World Engine wrecked havoc on the Indian Ocean.

Jason Momoa played Conan in the 2011 adaptation Conan the Barbarian. However, he is best known for his television roles: Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones and Ronon Dex in Stargate: Atlantis. Momoa has been asked about the rumor for some time now, often laughing off the reports. He told fans at Bucharest comic-con last month:

“I know, Aquaman! I couldn’t even be more random for Aquaman, you know, with the blonde hair… I don’t even know where that comes from – it’s like me being… uh… Robin or something. Who pulls that out? I see that on the internet and I’m like, Aquaman? A guy like… Lobo I could see.“

Aquaman was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger in November 1941. The sea-based superhero has the ability to live under water and communicate telepathically with sea creatures. His abilities have been mocked in pop culture, often portraying his powers as useless in comparison to the other superheroes. The character is also a founding member of the Justice League of America and was originally part of the now shelved George Miller-directed JLA live-action feature film project.

Aquaman famously was used as part of the plot of the HBO television series Entourage, where (show spoilers follow) James Cameron directed Vincent Chase in the fictional big screen adaptation, which also featured Mandy Moore and James Woods, as the love interest and villain respectively. The movie did huge business at the box office (in the fictional show storyline), earning just over $116 million, beating Spider-Man‘s then record-making $114.8 million. HBO even published a fake Box Office celebration advertisement in the Hollywood industry trade newspaper Variety, seen below.



At the time, Cameron, who made a cameo appearance on the show, said he received phone calls from acquaintances congratulating him. Some of them even admitted that they didn’t even know anything about the film, none the less that he had directed it. CNBC was also fooled by the fake advertisement and ran the story on television. On Entourage, a sequel was made without Chase, directed by Michael Bay, written by Kevin Smith and starring Jake Gyllenhaal. You can watch a clip from the show where Vince and the boys trek out to the scorching hot Valley to watch a screening of Aquaman.

After the success of Smallville, Warner Bros filmed a pilot for an Aquaman television series for CW. Developed by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, and directed by Greg Beeman (Mom and Dad Save the World, Smallville, Heroes), the show was said to be of similar quality of Smallville (which isn’t saying a whole lot) but without the Superman brand name. CW ultimately passed on the series, but the pilot episode was released to the public on iTunes and X Box Live. You can watch the trailer below.