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Aquamen Unite! New Fast X Star Alan Ritchson on Teaming With Fellow Live-Action Aquaman Jason Momoa
The Smallville alum gives Momoa all the Arthur Curry props: “He was the best Aquaman”
Judging from early reactions, Jason Momoa is anything but a fish out of water as the scene-stealing new villain behind the explosive motor mayhem in Fast X. It’s a good thing, then, that fellow DC acting alum and Fast Saga newcomer Alan Ritchson, Momoa’s Fast X costar, has no plans to try to lock tridents with the Aquaman actor over Momoa’s other big blockbuster acting gig.
These days, there are only two people on the planet who can lay claim to having played DC’s fish-whispering sea hero in live action, and as luck would have it, both of them — Momoa and Ritchson, of course — have ended up sharing screen space in Fast X. Asked during the movie’s red carpet premiere if the awkward topic of having two Aquaman stars on the same set ever came up during filming, Ritchson — who played Aquaman on fan-favorite small-screen series Smallville — said he knew better than to tug at Momoa’s maritime fins.
RELATED: Fast X Expected to Drive Circles Around Box Office with Nearly $300 Million Debut
“You know,” Ritchson joked, “I left it alone. Because he got the cool Aquaman and I got the… I was in speedos, basically. He was cool, he did it right, he was the best Aquaman. What am I gonna say?”
Dante: Momoa's New Fast X Nemesis (with a Joker Twist)
Ritchson’s obviously been steeped to the gills in the art of diplomacy, electing to give Momoa an admirably wide berth of superhero deference as fans await Momoa’s return in the upcoming DC sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Surrounded by their Fast X trappings, at any rate, that’s probably the safest tactic: Though Ritchson ostensibly plays one of the good guys in Fast X as Aimes, Mr. Nobody’s super-secret spy agency successor, Momoa’s saddled with zero constraints on belligerent behavior as Dante, the movie’s over-the-top big new baddie.
Momoa, in fact, wowed even veteran Fast X A-listers with his fully committed portrayal of a wounded crime-family scion driven by a boundless appetite for revenge. “Working with him and getting to kick the movie off with him was really amazing,” said Fast X costar Charlize Theron (Cipher), “because I got to kind of see him find this character and this character is just… wait for it, it’s amazing.”
Critics who’ve sneaked an early preview peek at Fast X seem to agree, citing Momoa’s villain as one of the high points in a rambunctiously ridiculous action caper that’s hardly short on spectacle in the first place. Dante storms into the thick of the Fast Saga’s infamously epic cast of outsized personalities with a wicked vendetta against Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the family, one that critics haven’t hesitated to compare to DC’s Joker.
“He’s a twisted, creepy villain,” confessed Fast Saga acting royalty Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) from the red carpet. “Charlize Theron plays a badass villain and she’s as cold as ice and you really have to chip away to find a heart somewhere in there. But this guy takes it to a whole other level. He’s funny, he’s witty, but creepy at the same time. You kind of like him — and you’re like, ‘How can I like this guy? He’s a bad guy! He’s evil!’”
Fast X marks the start of a two (or maybe even three) movie cycle that’s set to spell the end of the sprawling Fast & Furious saga as we know it. Save your fish jokes for Momoa’s Aquaman sequel (heading to theaters this December) while strapping in for Dante’s devilishly dangerous drive-by, as Fast X makes its premiere on big screens everywhere beginning Friday, May 19.
