Summary

Michael Beach dishes on Jesse Kane almost returning via flashbacks in
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Unfortunately, due to scheduling problems and other issues, Beach wasn’t able to reprise the role of Black Manta’s father and shoot some original footage for
The Lost Kingdom.

“It’s not looking too good” for the future of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, according to the titular star.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s revenge-fueled storyline owed so much to Michael Beach’s character Jesse Kane, even though the actor didn’t reprise his role in the Aquaman (2018) sequel. In fact, the father (Beach) of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) barely appears in the original film. However, Kane’s tragic and preventable death is what fuels Manta’s vengeance and the villain’s attempt to try and destroy the King of Atlantis, aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa), along with his entire family. Originally, Beach did discuss returning as Kane in some flashbacks, but they never came to fruition. Beach said during an interview with ComicBook.com:

“They actually talked to me about shooting a couple of scenes in Aquaman 2,
obviously flashback things, but
we weren’t able to do it because of scheduling
and stuff.
Instead, they just put a couple of clips from the first one in there to remind the audience as to why Black Manta hates Aquaman so much.”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom The follow-up to the smash hit DC adventure Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis.Release Date December 25, 2023 Director James Wan Studio Warner Bros., DC Entertainment Franchise DC Expand

Beach continued:

“Even though my character doesn’t have a whole lot of screen time,
I think the setup of Manta’s hatred for Aquaman has to be shown in my relationship with him.
I think we pulled that off in the little time that we had.
We have to build this relationship in order for the hatred to carry us through to not only the first film but the second film.”

‘It’s Not Looking Too Good’ for Aquaman’s Future

Aquaman definitely ranks among Jason Momoa’s best movies, but the future of the former DCEU’s Arthur Curry remains in question. Now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are reshaping DC Comics’ films, TV, animation and games into one cohesive world, there may not be a place for Momoa’s dweller of the depths in the new DC Universe. Momoa said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight while promoting Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom back in December:

“I don’t necessarily want it to be the end.
I don’t think it’s really, like, a choice.
[James and Peter want] to start their new thing up […]
The truth of it is, I mean, if the audience loves it, then there’s a possibility.
But right now, I’m like,
‘It’s not looking too good.’”

Related DCU: Recasting Jason Momoa as Lobo Could Be Great… or Terrible After the end of the DCEU and his take on Aquaman, Jason Momoa could be lined up to play Lobo for James Gunn in a move that could hurt them both.

Momoa continued:

“I love this character
and [I would] play it for a long time. I kind of see where I would want it to go.
And even in the next 10 years or so, there’s a lot of cool things they can do.
And I do enjoy the role and the world.
So, I mean, it just comes down to if people love it.”

Don’t count out Momoa returning even if it’s not as Arthur Curry/Aquaman. While it’s not been confirmed, the actor’s future in Gunn and Safran’s DCU could be as the alien mercenary and bounty hunter known as Lobo, which is the “perfect role” in Momoa’s own words. But only time will tell if The Man Main and Momoa’s big-screen futures are going to intertwine.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
is available to stream on
Max,
at the time of this writing.