Culture & Film · Big Island of Hawaiʻi
Chief of War: The Big Island Behind the Story
Apple TV+'s series Chief of War, co-created by Jason Momoa, brings the story of Hawaiian unification to a global audience. Approximately twenty percent of the production was filmed on the Big Island, on landscapes that Abita guests explore firsthand.
A Hawaiian Story, Told in Hawaiian
Chief of War follows Kaʻiana, a Hawaiian warrior chief navigating the alliances and conflicts that led to the unification of the Hawaiian Islands in the late eighteenth century. The series is conducted in part in the Hawaiian language, placing a story long absent from mainstream television at the center of the frame.
While much of the production took place in New Zealand, the creative team returned to Hawaiʻi Island for roughly twenty percent of filming, capturing landscapes that could not be replicated elsewhere.
Big Island Locations Featured in the Series
The production drew on the island's most dramatic terrain to stage key sequences, including battle scenes filmed against an active volcanic backdrop.
- Kalapana Lava Fields The primary setting for the series' battle sequences. Filming took place during an active eruption period of Mauna Loa, providing a landscape of raw volcanic intensity that no set could replicate.
- Hilo and Surrounding Areas The lush, rain-fed landscape around Hilo provided the backdrop for additional scenes, rounding out the production's time on island with its distinctive contrast of green and black volcanic terrain.
The landscapes of Hawaiʻi Island have always held a story larger than any production. Chief of War simply reminded the world of that.The Abita Standard
Stay in the Landscapes Where the Story Was Filmed
Abita Luxury Rentals properties at Mauna Lani Resort place you within reach of the same Big Island terrain that drew the Chief of War production team to the island. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a two-hour drive south. The Kohala Coast, the ancient fishponds, and the lava fields are part of the daily landscape. The island is here to be explored and your private villa is waiting when you return.
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