Jason Momoa showed just how far he is willing to go in the protests at Mauna Kea last week with an Instagram post about Aquaman 2. The actor joked that he would allow a bulldozer to run him over if he had to to keep the new observatory from being built on the sacred site, even if it delayed his next super hero movie.
Momoa posted a photo of another construction site where the Subaru Telescope was built in 1992. If Maunakea Observatories gets its way there will be an even bigger telescope on Mauna Kea, the highest peak in Hawaii and a sacred place to Native Hawaiians. According to Momoa, however, they will have to run him over to get there.
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“F— THIS. And TMT is 4x bigger,” he wrote last week. Momoa wrote a mock note to Warner Bros., explaining why he would be unable to work on his next big movie.
“Sorry Warner Bros we can’t shoot Aquaman 2. Because Jason got run over by a bulldozer trying to stop the desecration of his native land,” he wrote.
“THIS iS NOT HAPPENING. WE ARE NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS ANYMORE. Enough is enough. Go somewhere else,” Momoa added. Further down he noted that the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, would “be four times larger on unscathed land. We must protect our sacred mountain from further desecration.”
Aquaman 2 is not due in theaters until 2022, so Momoa has plenty of time to protest before work gets underway. Moreover, he emphasized how important the protection of the mountain is to him and his community. As proof, Momoa displayed how much he is willing to give up — global stardom, a super hero franchise and perhaps even his own body as he stands between Mauna Kea and the construction crew with other protesters.
Momoa has brought a lot of attention to the protests at Mauna Kea as one of the world’s biggest movie stars. Of course, many still argue in favor of the telescope, saying that the potential benefits out weight the costs. Momoa disagrees, and he has shared resources from his community as proof.
Last week, Momoa posted a lengthy conversation between Hawaii state representative Mark Kaniela Ing and a supporter of the telescope. In the comments of an Instagram post, Ing was able to patiently convince another person that the possible scientific value, tourist revenue and university benefit of the TMT was negligible, while the cost to the Native community was great.
“Is there no compromise at all between innovation and religious (native) beliefs?” the commenter asked.
Ing responded: “we have compromised often,” listing instances where the Native community has granted more land and construction rights to the university and the observatory alongside contrasting stories of the university failing to keep its promises.
“They want only the whole thing, and [are] willing to arrest Natives to get it,” he wrote. “Who’s really unwilling to compromise?”
Momoa and his fellow protesters are still standing strong against construction at Mauna Kea, with support from other stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. So far, there is no word of the demonstrations coming between Momoa and his work.
