There is, probably literally, only one man who could have done it. Whatever claims Hollywood likes to make for itself regarding meritocracy and diversity, only Jason Momoa has the Hawaiian heritage and the commercial clout needed (via such roles as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones and various outings as Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe) to get an endeavour like Chief of War on to our screens.
Momoa co-created with Thomas Pa’a Sibbitt the nine-part historical drama, co-wrote every episode, executive produces and stars as the protagonist Ka’iana, a Native Hawaiian warrior who would become instrumental in the fight to unify the four Hawaiian kingdoms at the turn of the 18th century. It opens with lingering shots of O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i, each island so spectacularly beautiful, so inviting, so intriguingly different from anywhere else and so lovingly captured by director Justin Chon that it all begins to take on a vaguely hallucinatory quality.
