In its most recent release, DC Studios replaced Jason Momoa's Aquaman with a new hero. After Momoa played the iconic Atalanean for nearly a decade, the\ Justice League member has been shown the door, along with the entire cinematic universe he occupied (the DCEU). Now, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has taken the reins, launching his new interconnected DCU, which carries over only a few elements from the franchise's now-defunct former cinematic universe.
This changing of the guard was no better put on display than during the "Previously On" montage to start DC Studios' Peacemaker Season 2, which debuted on HBO Max in late August. During this catch-up on the previously-set-in-the-DCEU series, several key moments from the show's first season were reshot to be set within the newly debuted DCU. This resulted in Jason Momoa's Aquaman being outright replaced by a new hero in Gunn's new super-powered universe.
Fans were taken aback during the Peacemaker Season 2 premiere, as its "Previously On" recap to start the episode, swapped Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner in for Jason Momoa's Aquaman during Season 1's climactic Justice League scene.
This moment from Peacemaker's first season saw the iconic superhero team arrive right as John Cena's Christopher Smith had vanquished the Project Butterfly threat to exchange some explicit-laden quips back and forth about the dangerous operation.
While in the original cut of the scene, the DCU's Justice League appeared out of the shadows (including Ezra Miller's Flash, Jason Momoa's Aquaman, and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman), this new reshot DCEU version swapped the team of heroes out for the Justice Gang (as introduced in James Gunn's Superman).
This meant that instead of Momoa's scale-armored supe, Fillion's goofy Green Lantern opened this rectonned Season 1 conversation with Cena's chrome-domed anti-hero.
The change from Aquaman to Green Lantern confirms that the events of Peacemaker Season 1 (as depicted in Season 2) firmly took place in an alternate reality to the one seen in the show's original first season.
Instead of taking place in the former DCEU, the hit HBO series has essentially said, "Yes, those events did happen similarly in the new DCU, just with a slightly more relevant twist to the current canon."
Peacemaker Season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max, marking the first live-action TV series in James Gunn's newly-launched DCU. The hit R-rated comedy again follows John Cena's Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, a down-on-his-luck superhero who will go to any lengths for peace.
Season 2 finds Cena's titular hero questioning himself once again. After saving the world in Season 1 from the terrifying alien threat, Project Butterfly, he still has not gotten the credit he thinks he deserves. This sends him looking inter-dimensionally to feel fulfilled, as he discovers an alternate universe where everything seems perfect.
Jason Momoa's DC Future Explained
Even though the DCEU was widely seen as a failure among fans, Jason Momoa's Aquaman was one of the few generally accepted bright spots from the ill-fated era of the Blue Brand.
So, seeing that he has essentially been blinked out of existence after Peacemaker Season 2 will likely furrow some brows among Aquaman fans.
However, this was a necessary evil. With James Gunn turning the page on DC's on-screen affairs, he had to pick and choose what was coming along with him. Tragically, almost everything from the previous iteration of the comic book world was left on the cutting room floor (Peacemaker himself being a notable exception).
This does not mean Momoa's DC tenure is entirely over, though. In fact, he has already been confirmed to return to the super-powered world.
The former Aquaman star is set to play the terrifying Lobo in next year's Supergirl film starring Milly Alock. So, despite not returning as his previous DC hero, fans will still get to see the actor as a part of the franchise, albeit in an entirely new role.
