Jason Momoa has had a wide-ranging career from scaling up as Aquaman, being a Fast and Furious villain, pairing with Denis Villeneuve for Dune and now he’s going back to DC to play Lobo in next year’s Supergirl. But first? He’s got his own show on Apple TV+. A good one, it seems.
That show is Chief of War, where you may be able to guess who the Chief of War is. It’s Momoa’s second big outing with Apple, as he was in one of the earliest AppleTV+ originals, See, the sci-fi series where almost everyone on Earth has gone blind. Chief of War is more fighting, but in a much different package, drawing on Momoa’s heritage. Here’s the synopsis:
“Hawaii’s four kingdoms are divided by war; to prevent further bloodshed, a Hawaiian war chief embarks on a mission to unite his people as an existential threat approaches their shores.”
This is not based on a book, it was actually created by Momoa himself alongside Thomas Pa’a Sibbett. It takes place in the 18th century and is based on true events that it’s unlikely the rest of the world is familiar with. It stars almost an exclusively Hawaiian cast, and has landed such talent as Hans Zimmer as a composer.
Critics are loving Chief of War. It has a Certified Fresh 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, no easy feat, and I feel like Momoa has started to be a bit overlooked in the industry with his big, blockbuster roles that can sometimes blur together a bit. But here, this is his what I believe is his highest-scored mainstream project, no small feat.
Chief of War is nine episodes long, and after its double-episode premiere, will run for seven more weeks and end in mid-September. Apple TV+ almost never does binge-drops. This week, Chief of War has debuted at #1, clocking ahead of the most recent season of Foundation and just-renewed-for-season 2 Stick. Granted, Apple is somewhat slow to release new programs, but as I’ve said many times, it’s the most underrated streaming service, and its batting average of great shows to total shows is the best in the industry. It’s sort of the anti-Netflix in many ways.
Momoa recently made the rounds on social media where he posted a video of him shaving his beard he’d grown for six years so he could return to his role in Dune: Messiah, reuniting with that cast after being killed off (you’ll see). I also have pinned him as a possible frontrunner to play Kratos in Amazon’s God of War series, provided he would agree to shave his head. I know some people have dismissed this idea, but watch Chief of War, and you may change your mind.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.