Hollywood’s Hawaiian heartthrob Jason Momoa has spent much of 2025 preparing for the anticipated release of his Apple+ series, Chief of War. Speculated to be the next Game of Thrones, Momoa not only executive produced but also wrote the series alongside Thomas Pa’a Sibbet, starred and directed one episode also. Controversially, the series was mostly filmed in Aotearoa, New Zealand and cast Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiians) and non-Kanaka Maoli in leading roles. For some audience members, telling a Hawaiian story is not enough – lived experience casting is an important piece of story sovereignty. Town & Country’s guide to the cast and characters of Chief of War reported that seven out of twelve main Kanaka Maoli characters are played by Tongan or Māori actors.
“I may catch or may not catch heat for my comment but if I do here’s my thoughts on the show so far. If you’re going to tell a Hawaiian story—especially one as significant as Queen Kaʻahumanu’s—then it should be done the right way: with respect, cultural protocol, and by involving Hawaiian people directly. That means casting Native Hawaiians, filming in Hawaiʻi, and investing in our communities. Choosing to film in New Zealand and casting outsiders shows that Hawaiian values weren’t the priority.” shared Charles Akau (@milaskitchenhawaii) on an instagram post by Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp that highlighted the choices behind filming in Aotearoa NZ.
In 2014, Dr Tammy Ha’iliōpua Baker established the MFA in Hawaiian Theatre at the University of Hawai’i, where students learn and speak all theatrical productions in Ōlelo Hawai’i (Hawaiian language). In her review of the first two episodes of the series on Tiktok, graduate of the program MFA program, Lily Hi’ilani speaks to the casting of other Pacific Islander actors in Kanaka Maoli roles “still risks reinforcing the idea that we are interchangeable and we are not…our community has it owns unique history and traditions and cultural identities. And when it comes to stories about Kanak Maoli we’re barely represented as it is.”
Temuera Morrison justified his casting to Nerds of Colour by saying that Jason Momoa needed some talented Polynesians around him, “Jason said to me, “Look, we’re the same people, bro. We’re the same people.” And so, taking into account, I decided to warm to the idea. And I thought, well, he needs some experienced Polynesian actors around him. I’m talking about Jason. So I decided to get stuck in.” 11 years on since the establishment of the UH MFA program, any claims that there is no experienced Hawaiian actors by the Chief of War cast is flat out erasure and ego.
In an interview with eTalk, Tongan actress Luciane Buchanan (known for The Night Agent) who played Kaʻahumanu, the first queen of a unified Hawai’i, shared that she “spent the weekend decoding the script, looking at the character and I was like ‘okay, this is a pretty special character.” Given the historical significance of Ka’ahumanu, Buchanan’s statements are one of many clues as to why a non-Kanaka Maoli should not be cast in this role – her lack of hòhoko (geneaology in the Tongan language) demonstrates a lack of connection, cultural context and lived experience of the mana of this ancestor.
Momoa’s personal love (Read: bromance) for Māori actors Cliff Curtis and Temuera Morrison isn’t something he hides, as Morrison became a co-producer on Chief of War and Momoa used the series as an opportunity to write his idols into the series. “You’re going: Those are my idols, and I’m writing for them,” Momoa said. “Episode eight, I get to write that’s where he’s punching his f— teeth out. … I’m writing that for my idol going: ʻYou would do it like this. You would do like this.’” – Momoa shared with Aloha State Daily.
Curtis, in particular, is notorious for playing many different ethnicities. In a Slate article titled ‘What it’s like to play every ethnicity Hollywood throws at you’ Cliff Curtis’ exchange with June Thomas highlights that cultural authenticity is not as important to him as money, referring to the “chameleon aspect to the way people cast” him as “paying the bills”
And that’s really what I think these actors should just do – be upfront about the fact that they don’t genuinely care about cultural authenticity or Hawaiian representation. If they did, they would step aside and make space for Kanaka Maoli actors to play these roles. But the fame, the money and the opportunity to work on a major production was just too good to pass up. Just say you’re here for the fame and fortune fam, and go.
Holly Catsoulis 
Brooke Nunn 
Fynn McGroder