Jeffrey Dean Morgan nearly played Lobo before Jason Momoa — why it never happened

Here’s a bit of superhero casting history that nearly went a very different way: Jeffrey Dean Morgan could have been the bloke hulking out as Lobo on screen, long before Jason Momoa ever snagged the gig. If you’ve ever pictured Morgan’s trademark smirk paired with a stack of muscles and a spacebike, it came closer to happening than you might guess—until a string of studio cold feet and “creative differences” sent the whole thing to the scrapheap.

How it nearly happened

The story starts with Akiva Goldsman—he produced The Losers and had the rights to the cigar-chomping DC antihero at one stage. Goldsman actually approached Morgan about taking on Lobo. This wasn’t just idle dream-casting either; there were proper talks, scripts, the whole lot. Morgan himself was a Lobo rookie when the idea landed. Speaking recently on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Morgan said he was won over by the tone after giving the comics a proper look.

According to Morgan’s own recollection on the podcast, he got invested quickly—but recognised there were some hurdles. Physically, the role was a bit of a stretch. Morgan isn’t exactly scrawny, but Lobo’s built like he bench-presses motorcycles for breakfast. Still, he was up for it, saying he reckoned he’d sort the gym work in a year or so. There was even a script (well, a draft). Alas, by his own admission, the thing needed a fair bit of rewriting and never quite got there.

Here’s Morgan, laying out why it all fizzled during the podcast:

I think Warner Brothers coming off of Watchmen and Losers and wasn’t having a great time with DC. Maybe Jeffrey Dean at the same time. Now that I think about it, maybe we shouldn’t bet too much on this dude.

Basically, the timing was all wrong. Warner Bros. had just seen Watchmen and The Losers bomb at the box office, both with Morgan on the poster. Studio execs started to sweat at the thought of another DC punt, especially with the same lead attached. The momentum just drained out of the project. The script didn’t get further rewrites. Morgan kept lobbying for the part from 2009 on, but after a stretch of radio silence, it was pretty clear: Lobo wasn’t turning up with him in the saddle any time soon.

Lobo originally appeared in Omega Men #3 in 1983 and spent decades bouncing around DC’s wild side before reaching cinemas.

Who actually brought Lobo to life?

The role eventually landed with Jason Momoa, who’s now headlining as Lobo in DC’s Supergirl (the one with Sasha Calle). So Morgan’s dream casting joins the ever-growing list of near-misses, studio wobbles, and what-ifs that litter comic book movie history. Lobo, meanwhile, can at least say he finally made it to a proper film after four decades, even if it wasn’t exactly the ride Morgan had in mind.