Jason Momoa is easily one of the most successful actors to come out of Game of Thrones; his only real competition is Pedro Pascal. Just recently, Momoa appeared in A Minecraft Movie, which has made nearly a billion dollars at the box office. Talking to GQ, he quipped that he'd "saved cinema" with that movie. What to do with his newfound credibility?
Momoa has turned towards Chief of War, a historical epic set on the Hawaiian islands in the late 18th century, before they'd been colonized by Western nations. Momoa plays Ka'iana, a real-life historical figure who "tries to unify the islands, according to the official description.
The miniseries is coming out in just a couple months. A teaser trailer dropped the other day, and it looks properly epic:
Apparently, the show starts with Momoa's character lassoing a shark and riding it around like it's a wild horse, which I figure could either look awesome or ridiculous. Momoa definitely thinks it's awesome. “This has been my everything. This is my Braveheart, this is my Last of the Mohicans," he said. "[W]hen I was a little kid, I looked at all these Native American movies and I love samurai movies and I love all these cultures, and so this is it for us. This is our chance.”
It's hard to look at a big sweeping historical epic with pounding music and intense action and not think at least a little of Game of Thrones, especially with Momoa — who got a boost thanks to playing warlord Khal Drogo on the show — in the lead role. According to the actor, someone who was "very, extremely important" on Game of Thrones came onto Chief of War "to help on some stuff, and they left very impressed. "[H]e's like, ‘This is bigger than Game of Thrones could ever be. Fuck dragons, dude. This thing is insane.'”
I wonder who it was? Maybe one of the big directors or producers. In any case, Chief of War does look pretty intense. It premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 1.
Jason Momoa in talks to join Street Fighter movie
Momoa seems to be taking the classic "one for me, one for thee" approach to Hollywood, where he does one project that makes a lot of money, like A Minecraft Movie, and then does something he's passionate about, like Chief of War. Deadline reports that he's in talks to join a new live-action based on the Street Fighter series of video games, which sounds more like a "one for thee" kind of thing.
Not that I want to put down Street Fighter; I've been playing those fighting games for years. They're pretty light on story; mostly you just choose your fighter and go at it. I could see Momoa as...Vega, maybe? Or he could be good as the monstrous Blanka? Sound off in the comments if you know who he should play. There are some other heavy hitters in talks to join the film, including pro wrestler Roman Reigns, Warfare actor Noah Centineo, and Warrior star Andrew Koji.
Street Fighter was made into a live-action movie before. That film is famously bad, but it was made in 1994 when video game adaptations were taken far less sesriously. Let's hope the new one fares better.
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