Jason Momoa is preparing for war in the first trailer for his epic historical drama Chief of War. The preview dropped on Thursday ahead of the show’s premiere on Apple TV+ on August 1st. It introduces Momoa in the role of Ka’iana, a Native Hawaiian who traveled the world in the late 1700s before returning home to try and prepare his people for the onslaught of western visitors, traders, and colonizers. The show is based on true events, and from the trailer it’s clear that great care was taken with historically-accurate depictions of pre-colonial life in Hawaii. Momoa has thrived playing warriors in sci-fi and fantasy, but in this more grounded story, his action scenes look just as compelling as ever.
Momoa co-created Chief of War with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett to tell one of the most famous stories of Hawaii’s colonization. Momoa plays the mysterious figure Ka’iana, who sailed around the world as a guest of European traders before returning home to tell his stories. The trailer seems to hint at his journeys in one shot where he is bundled in furs on a snow mountain, but for the most part, the action takes place on Hawaii.
In the trailer, Ka’iana speaks knowingly to others about his experience among westerners, warning that they won’t scruple to claim whatever they can from the island, regardless of what the native people want. However, it’s also clear that the islands are embroiled in their own power struggle, and it’s hard to tell where Ka’iana stands within it. He clearly does some fighting against other Hawaiian’s in this preview, and he doesn’t seem to agree with Kamehameha (Kaina Makua) that the islands must be united under a single monarch.
The trailer highlights some we-inspiring shots, including warriors snatching thrown spears out of the air and using sleds to charge quickly down hills of volcanic stone. It also promises a character-driven story, which may take some liberties with the verified historical accounts of Ka’iana’s life. Still, knowing how the story ends won’t stop it from being compelling television.
Chief of War has been in the works since 2015, and Apple TV+ officially ordered the series in 2022. The streamer has a strong track record with Momoa, who starred in the drama series See. Momoa has often shared his passion for Hawaii and his Native Hawaiian heritage, even joining a protest on the islands in 2019 against the construction of a telescope on spiritual holy site.
British explorers were the first Europeans to record a visit to Hawaii in 1778, when they stumbled across the island chain by mistake. In the years that followed, visits included a mixture of trade and violence, but like in the Americas, the introduction of European diseases wreaked havoc on the Native population. Violence escalated in the early 1800s, as this show seems to depict.
We’ll see more for ourselves very soon, as Chief of War premieres on August 1st on Apple TV+.
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