DC’s biggest movie box office helps explain an unusual DC Universe casting decision a number of years later. While the franchise hasn’t reached the financial heights of MCU goliaths like Avengers: Endgame, DC’s movie history has had some major hits, and a number of releases that managed to cross the ever-sought-after $1 billion box office mark.

The DCEU timeline resulted in some notable examples of DC box office hits, though the cinematic universe would eventually come to an end in 2023. However, the franchise’s biggest hit holds an important legacy to this day – and one that seemingly sheds light on why a specific casting became reality for the DC Universe timeline despite it raising some eyebrows.

Aquaman Holds The тιтle Of DC’s Highest Box Office Still Years Later

While the annals of DC movie history have largely centered on Batman and Superman, it’s instead the King of Atlantis who takes the crown in terms of its highest box office. 2018’s Aquaman earned $1.13 billion in its worldwide box office (as per Box Office Mojo), placing it among the superhero movies to have made over the billion mark.

Though DC has had strong box office results in the years since, they’ve never quite managed to beat these results. 2019’s Joker came closest recently, with its own $1.07 billion (Box Office Mojo) worldwide box office, and The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both also come close, though once again fall short despite hitting the $1 billion metric.

This result does make sense, both in terms of Aquaman offering a big-screen adaptation of a character who has been historically majorly overlooked in this regard, and in terms of providing plenty of spectacle thanks to its unveiling of the underwater DCEU kingdom. Given this result, it also makes sense the DCU made one notable casting decision.

Aquaman’s Success Further Explains The DCU Casting Jason Momoa As Lobo

Jason Momoa being cast as the DC Universe’s Lobo was a decision that garnered some notable audience surprise when it was first announced. Since the DCU’s intent was to move away from the DCEU’s past, bringing such a prominent DCEU actor in naturally raised some question marks, even if Momoa was returning in a new role.

However, seeing just how successful Aquaman was adds more context to this decision. Though Aquaman‘s success means many know Momoa as Aquaman, it also showed how effective the actor could be in the superhero genre and DC world, meaning so long as the DCU can establish his Lobo as notably different to Aquaman, the decision will likely pay off.

Given Lobo is very different to Aquaman on several levels – other than the fact both share a love of fighting and, depending on the version of Aquaman, a love of snarky comments – this shouldn’t prove too difficult for the franchise. As such, the DCU can have the benefits of bringing back a major DCEU actor who starred in DC’s biggest box office hit seemingly without the detriments.

Momoa is also ᴀssociated with a range of franchises – including The Fast & the Furious, Dune, and Game of Thrones – further establishing him as a box office draw and as someone who isn’t solely thought of as Aquaman. As such, the decision to make room for the actor also makes sense on this level, since Jason Momoa has repeatedly proven himself proficient in big franchises.

With the DCU not being afraid to bring back prior DC actors in new roles – like Nathan Fillion and Anthony Carrigan – bringing back a more prominent actor like Momoa presents some challenges, but also some unique advantages. Having an actor who’s closely acquainted with the nuances of an expanded cinematic universe makes sense for the DCU to capitalize on, especially this early in its own set up.

Jason Momoa Already Seems Set To Repeat An Aquaman Trick With Lobo

The specific decision to cast Jason Momoa as Lobo itself seems especially par for the course following Aquaman given what the 2018 movie achieves. It’s commonly noted that Aquaman was considered a bit of a silly hero and the subject of jokes before his DCEU depiction, with Aquaman turning things around.

While Lobo is less the subject of mockery and more just a character that tends to be more obscure to audiences, Momoa taking on the role presents some of the same potential. Though Lobo tends to be a more comedic character, the potential is there for the DC Universe to provide a version of Lobo that fleshes out the character for audiences.

This would seem particularly apt given James Gunn’s history with taking characters audiences tend to take less seriously and add more complexity to them – as evidenced with Polka-Dot Man and Weasel in Gunn’s prior DC releases. Combined with Momoa’s history of doing the same, it seems very much likely this is a possible approach for Lobo.

With Jason Momoa’s Lobo set to appear in 2026’s Supergirl, it will soon become clear whether the DC Universe will be able to replicate some of the DCEU’s success with Aquaman in Momoa’s new casting. Whatever happens, this decision is sure to be a fascinating part of DC movie lore, especially given Aquaman‘s immense box office success.