It's no secret that Justice League's sparse two-hour running time didn't leave a lot of room for any extra character development that wasn't already set up. This, of course, left newcomers like The Flash, Cyborg, and Jason Momoa's Aquaman with a bit of a disadvantage, as their stories aren't entirely delved into during the most recent project DC Comics has released into theaters. However, there's one person that's come out and said that it's OK that the would-be king of Atlantis hasn't been completely demystified, and that'd be Momoa himself, as he explains below:
The challenging part is [the Justice League story] is only about a weekend in Arthur Curry's life. [Fans] might be like, 'Why is he that grumpy? Why's he hiding up there?' We had it all planned out. A lot of things got cut. But it's not my movie. It's a huge movie introducing three new characters, and for myself and The Flash and Cyborg, there was a lot that was there we just couldn't get in. It could have been two movies. We had some stuff with Willem Dafoe. The whole Atlantean part, about me being this reluctant king. There was no need for it because you're going to see it in Aquaman. It's not an Aquaman movie, it's a Justice League movie.
There's some interesting points to be taken out of this new Justice League info dump. Of particular interest is the fact that it further reinforces the notion that there was a ton of Aquaman set-up that was cut in favor of the studio mandated running time of two hours. With reports of further Atlantian hijinks being reported before the release of Justice League, especially the fact that Willem Dafoe's Vulko was supposed to show up, it was expected that there'd also be a little more Jason Momoa than we got in the end. And yet, when all was said and done, all we got was an Aquaman that felt more like a supporting character. But, as Momoa himself has stated to EW, this isn't Aquaman.
While it may seem weird, there was still a fair amount of set-up that Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon's handiwork managed to put into its contents. It may not be a fully fleshed out origin, but it's enough background to more than likely entice those who want to see Arthur Curry become the rightful king of Atlantis to stick around for further adventures.
The success of that set-up will be determined by the response to Aquaman slated for release on December 2018. You can see what other films will challenge its potential box office dominance, by reading out 2018 release schedule. Meanwhile, you can watch Justice League in theaters now.
