Have you ever watched an actor talk about a role and thought, “Okay, this person has been waiting their whole life for this”? That’s the vibe I get from Jason Momoa right now. He’s gearing up to appear as Lobo in Supergirl, and he sounds less like someone taking a new job and more like someone finally getting to open a present he’s been shaking for years.
In a chat with The Mary Sue, Momoa didn’t just do the usual “honored to join the franchise” routine. He spoke like a guy who knows exactly what kind of chaotic energy he’s supposed to bring—and who also had one very specific condition before he fully signed on.
That “small thing” that turned into a real fight
Momoa’s request was, on paper, tiny. In practice, it was non-negotiable for the character: Lobo needed a cigar. Yes, a cigar. And yes, Momoa knows how it sounds.
He even joked about it, making it clear he’s not out here trying to sell smoking as a lifestyle—especially as a parent. But he kept circling back to the same point: for Lobo, the cigar isn’t a prop; it’s part of the language. It’s the punctuation at the end of a sentence. It’s the “I said what I said” of the character’s whole attitude.
What I love is that he didn’t pretend it was effortless. He described it as a “small battle” he had to push through. And when the conversation landed on how wild this new version of Supergirl is supposed to be, Momoa added another detail that’s so specific it’s almost cinematic on its own: doing intense action work and then trying to casually puff on a cigar is… not exactly easy. You’re out of breath, you’re trying to look unbothered, and your body is basically screaming. Yet, somehow, it still reads as cool.
Watching animals to find the “wild” in a character
Here’s where Momoa gets more interesting than the usual superhero press tour soundbites. He shared that a big part of his acting process involves studying animals—watching how they move, how they hold themselves, how they react—and then translating that into performance.
It’s the kind of detail that makes you pause and think: of course. Lobo isn’t meant to feel like a clean, polished hero. He’s feral charisma. He’s a brawl with a grin. So if Momoa is trying to capture something instinctive, physical, untamed, it tracks that he’d look outside human behavior and find inspiration in nature.
And he’s clearly having fun with it. The way he described Lobo came out as a kind of delighted confession: so wild, so entertaining. Not tortured. Not brooding. Not “save the world because I must.” Just… unleashed.
From Aquaman to Lobo: same star, completely different silhouette
Lobo is a hard pivot from Momoa’s earlier DC identity. Whether you loved him as Aquaman or you’re just ready to see him do something new, this role is a different kind of test. It’s not simply switching from one superhero to another; it’s shifting into a persona that’s built on exaggeration, swagger, and a kind of gleeful brutality.
One thing Momoa pointed out is the physical transformation. He talked about how he’s never played a character where he’s fully covered—where the costume and makeup erase the familiar “Jason Momoa” image so completely that people look at him like he’s a creature they’ve never seen before.
That’s a strange thrill, he suggested: stepping outside yourself so much that the audience responds with that immediate “wow,” as if the actor vanished and the character took over. And for Lobo, that full-body transformation isn’t a side detail—it’s the whole point. This is “The Main Man,” and Momoa seems determined to let that identity swallow the frame.
He also teased the personality we should expect: raw, unruly, and brutally honest. Not softened. Not sanitized. Not carefully rounded at the edges for maximum likability. The appeal is that Lobo doesn’t care if you like him—he’ll still steal the scene and then laugh about it.
Motorcycles, mayhem, and the “coolest” checklist
Momoa wasn’t shy about the fantasy of it all. He kept coming back to how unbelievably “cool” the character is—so much so that he could barely stop smiling. And honestly, you can see the picture without needing the trailer: roll in on a motorcycle, throw a punch that lands, light a cigar like nothing happened.
He described Lobo as someone who hits everyone, walks like he owns the ground, and makes even basic movement look like a statement. It’s not subtle acting. It’s not meant to be. Lobo is an exclamation mark with muscles.
If you’re the kind of viewer who enjoys Momoa at his most over-the-top—when he leans into charisma, physicality, and a wink to the audience—this is the lane. And it sounds like he knows it.
- A look that fully transforms him, not just “Momoa in a new suit”
- A character built on swagger and chaos, not heroic restraint
- Action with attitude, down to the smallest props and gestures
So what is Supergirl actually about?
The film’s setup is designed as a revenge-and-justice ride across the stars. The official description goes like this: “When an unexpected and ruthless enemy strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, intergalactic journey of vengeance and justice.”
That “unlikely companion” is where things get intriguing, because it hints at a dynamic that isn’t just hero-and-sidekick. It suggests friction, compromise, maybe even mutual disgust—exactly the kind of messy pairing that can make a superhero story feel alive.
And if you’re wondering when all of this lands, the tagline floating around is “Truth, Justice, Whatever,” with a release date set for June 26. Which, frankly, feels like the right level of irreverence if you’re inviting Lobo to the party.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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