One actor who came close to comic book movie stardom is Santiago Cabrera. In a recent Hollywood Reporter interview, he opened up about almost playing Aquaman back in 2007. Cabrera – best known from TV’s Heroes – said he officially got the part when George Miller was going to direct Justice League: Mortal.
Miller, the genius behind Mad Max, had cast Cabrera as Aquaman and the movie was gearing up to shoot down in Australia. Cabrera flew all the way there just to meet Miller and try on his Aquaman costume. “It felt so real in that moment,” he reflected. But things change fast in Hollywood. Right as filming was about to start, the writer’s strike hit and stopped the whole project in its tracks.
Justice League: Mortal had lined up some huge names too. D.J. Cotrona was set to play Superman. Armie Hammer woulda been Batman! And Megan Gale as Wonder Woman – how epic would that have been? It was shaping up to be its own separate universe from Batman Begins and Superman Returns.
Cabrera being cast as Aquaman back in ’07 is also interesting because it showed Warner Bros. maybe wanted to go in a new direction for the character. Instead of the typical blond dude, Cabrera could’ve paved the way for Jason Momoa’s darker take that we know today.
Even though Justice League: Mortal never got made, Cabrera says he’d totally be down for more superhero roles. “I’d love to play a villain for a change,” he added. With James Gunn now in charge over at DC and Marvel always expanding, who knows – maybe Santiago Cabrera will yet live to see himself on the big screen in tights!
