Every so often, a Hollywood “what could’ve been” resurfaces and makes you wish the multiverse were real. This is one of those cases. A long-scrapped Lobo movie, centered on DC’s cigar-chomping, ultra-violent intergalactic bounty hunter, is back in the conversation thanks to its writer. The IT: Welcome to Derry co-creator and co-showrunner Jason Fuchs detailed precisely the kind of unhinged comic-book chaos we almost had, and it has me reeling with FOMO.
If you’ve ever wondered why Lobo, a character who feels tailor-made for the post-Deadpool era, still hasn’t gotten his own film, Fuchs’ recent comments might explain it. Speaking on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the writer looked back on the abandoned project and described a pitch that instantly makes you mourn a movie that doesn’t exist. He shared:
Of all the things I’ve written that didn’t get made, I think that Lobo script is my favorite. The tone of that Lobo was Guardians of the Galaxy if Quinton Tarantino had directed it. It was a Hard-R, psychotic movie, very violent. It made Deadpool look like a Disney family film, which is probably why it ultimately didn’t get made, but that was one of my favorite projects we didn’t get to see across the finish line.
It’s not hard to see why that version stalled at Warner Bros., especially during a period when new DC movies were still trying to figure themselves out, and the studio was figuring out what its DC cinematic universe was supposed to be.
The vision went beyond tone alone. Fuchs revealed that Jason Momoa was always his mental template for Lobo, long before the actor was officially cast in the role for the upcoming Supergirl movie. According to the writer, there was never really another option in his mind. Even more eyebrow-raising is the fact that Michael Bay was attached to direct, a pairing that feels both chaotic and oddly perfect for a character like Lobo.
This wasn’t a solo act, either. The screenwriter said the script featured appearances from other DC characters, including a Green Lantern, and leaned into irreverent humor that openly poked fun at DC’s own cinematic missteps. One early scene reportedly lampooned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and its infamous “Martha” moment, ending not with reconciliation, but with Lobo blowing a character’s brains out mid-joke. Subtlety was clearly not on the menu.
In hindsight, the timing may have doomed the project more than the concept. Before Deadpool proved there was a massive audience for R-rated comic books, studios were far less willing to gamble on something this extreme. DC, in particular, was navigating tonal whiplash, unsure whether to chase darkness, humor, or some uneasy blend of both. A movie that openly mocked its own franchise and embraced ultraviolence was never going to fit neatly into that moment.
What makes the story sting now is how close the pieces seem to be lining up again. James Gunn’s first chapter of the DCU has been built around the idea of creative freedom, weird corners, and unapologetic tonal swings. Momoa is officially Lobo. Audiences are more open than ever to comic book movies that don’t play by traditional rules. Suddenly, the idea of a brutally funny, R-rated Lobo film doesn’t sound impossible. It sounds overdue.
For now, fans will at least get a taste of Lobo when Supergirl flies onto the 2026 movie schedule, landing in theaters on June 26, 2026. But hearing what almost was makes it hard not to wonder whether DC still has the nerve to unleash the version Fuchs described.
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