Next month, Jason Momoa stars as Kaʻiana, a real-life Hawaiian warrior who tried to unite the islands against colonization in the 18th century, in Chief of War, a splashy new historical series coming to Apple TV+. Watch the full, official trailer below:
"Chief of War follows the epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonization of Hawai‘I in the late 18th century," reads the show's official logline. "Told from an indigenous perspective, Chief of War is a passion project for creators Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, who both share native Hawaiian heritage."
Jason Momoa got famous after playing Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones. He rode that fame to huge success with roles in the DC Cinematic Universe, as Aquaman, and recently in A Minecraft Movie, one of the most successful films of the year so far. He seems to be acting in the model of an old-fashioned movie star here, raising his profile with those projects and then pouring his energy into something much more personal like Chief of War, which he's said took nearly a decade to get made.
Not that Chief of War looks dull; as you can see in the trailer, it's a proper epic with a huge cast, period costumes, beautiful photography and huge action scenes. It looks really good; hopefully Momoa's involvement is the draw he wants it to be. Other cast members include Luciane Buchanan, Temuera Morrison, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Cliff Curtis, Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale’o, Brandon Finn, James Udom, Mainei Kinimaka, Te Kohe Tuhaka, and Benjamin Hoetjes.
The first two episodes of Chief of War will drop on Friday, August 1 on Apple TV+, which is fast becoming one of the premiere locations for premiere content. At a time when major studios are canceling TV shows left and right, Apple keeps taking bold swings. Their sci-fi epic Foundation has never been a huge hit, but the third season just premiered and is better than ever. Apple just renewed Murderbot, another sci-fi show with a small but passionate fanbase. And now there's Chief of War, a big damn saga not based on any pre-existing piece of IP. It's heartening to see at least one streamer taking these sorts of chances and letting shows find their audiences over time.
As for Momoa, if you want more of him outside of Chief of War, here he is tearing it up in the mosh pit at the heavy metal event of the decade:
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