While it’s still more than a year away from releasing to general audiences, James Wan’s upcoming Aquaman movie is shaping up to be just as star-studded as any comic book film in recent memory. From Jason Momoa in the title role, to Amber Heard as his wife Hera, to even the recent addition of Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, it’s clear that Wan wants a nice mix of seasoned pros and relative newcomers to help fill out his high seas adventure story cast.

Among the veterans and recognizable stars permeating Aquaman’s cast list, however, there’s one name that some fans may tend to overlook: Temuera Morrison. Morrison, who landed the role of Aquaman’s  human father Thomas Curry, is perhaps best known for portraying Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, as well as the clones through the latter two prequel films. However, he’s been active since the early ‘70s and has developed something of his own rabid fanbase throughout the years, and one of those super fans just happens to be Aquaman himself.

Via his Instagram account, Momoa shared a behind the scenes photo with Morrison of the Aquaman star hugging the veteran actor with a wide smile on his face. In the caption available, Momoa calls Morrison an “idol” of his, even going so far as to call the New Zealand native an “inspiration” for his own acting career growing up. For a look at the behind the scenes photo, as well as the accompanying caption, look below.

meeting one of my idols. I’m so honored and proud to be working with Temuera Morrison A true inspiration for me growing up trying to become an actor #bucketlistcheck #ohanaforlife #jakethemuss cheeeeehoooooooooi aloha j A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies) on Apr 26, 2017 at 12:58pm PDT

While the photo doesn’t exactly offer an intricate look into the goings-on behind the Aquaman set, it does potentially paint a picture of the chemistry shared between both Momoa and Morrison. With the latter playing the former’s father in the film, that chemistry could prove to be a key component for making the relationship more believable.

In the comics, the origins of Curry varies depending on which iteration of Aquaman a fan subscribes to, but in most stories he’s portrayed as a lighthouse keeper who has a son with Atlanna (portrayed in the film by another veteran, Nicole Kidman), an outcast from Atlantis. It’ll be interesting to see how Morrison handles such a role, but given his diverse and expansive filmography, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll have much trouble sinking into the part.

Regardless, with Aquaman making his first big appearance later this year in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it’ll be the first real test for how fans respond to Momoa’s interpretation of the character. Given the negative response from critics and some fans thus far in relation to the DC Extended Universe, there may be some pre-determined pessimism tied to these future films. In fact, for some fans, Justice League might be a make or break moment in their overall opinion of the DCEU and could very well determine just how successful (or unsuccessful) future stand-alone films like Aquaman ultimately prove to be.

Source: Instagram

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Justice League Release Date: 2017-11-17