Jason Momoa has been doing good things on Apple TV+ with his series See, and his new show for the streamer is set to be just as big. However, Chief of War is something different for the Hawaiian actor, as it is a very personal project that allows him to delve into the history of his own people, something that he has called challenging, hard but above all, his “Holy Grail.”
While Momoa has become best known for his big blockbuster roles, which will be on display again this year with Fast X and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the actor has often dipped his toe into TV work as well. His latest small screen role is by far the most important that he has ever been part of. He told Men’s Health:
“[It’s my] Holy Grail, my baby, and my dream. It’s like my Braveheart or Dances with Wolves. I never thought it would be this big. It’s the hardest, most challenging, most demanding thing I’ve ever done. It’s the last big dream I have left. Everything else is just kind of ‘actor for hire,’ but this is my homage to my people. We have so many beautiful stories in Hawaii that no one knows about. All I care about is just doing right by my people. [The show is] for Indigenous kids growing up, understanding that we were warriors and what we come from and understanding there was a language that was stripped from us. Like most Indigenous tribes, everything’s taken from us. It’s like rebuilding and building these bridges back.”
Chief of War Really Is Jason Momoa’s Baby.
While it is easy for actors to claim that one project or another is the greatest or most personal thing they have done, Momoa has taken it to the next level with Chief of War. As well as staring in the eight part series, he also acts as writer and producer on the show.
Momoa plays Ka’iana, one of the first natives of Hawaii to visit the U.S. and China in the late 18th century. The series will be exploring how Ka’iana traveled the world, learning about his own island home and leading to the unification of Hawaii. Momoa is joined in the series by Temuera Morrison, best known recently for playing Star Wars’ Boba Fett, Luciane Buchanan and Karina Makua.
There has currently been no release date set for Chief of War to air on Apple TV+, but with filming having been mostly completed in late 2022 and earlier 2023, there is a good chance that the series will be arriving sometime later this year. It will be another addition to the growing roster of work by Momoa, which as well as his Aquaman sequel and Fast X appearance also includes a live-action Minecraft movie and a remake of the Sylvester Stallone thriller Cliffhanger, both of which are currently in pre-production. With all of this, and the all-but-confirmed belief that Momoa will be taking on the role of Lobos in the new DCU, there are many things for his fans to look forward to in the future.
